Something Else
by Jason Thompson
Summary: Not quite enemies, not quite allies, Batman and Catwoman share something all their own. Moved from Batman: The Animated Series because it no longer quite fits there.
1. A Quiet Night

Something Else  
  
A Batman Fanfiction Story  
  
Author: Jason Thompson  
  
Pilamsega@yahoo.com  
  
August 29, 2002  
  
Disclaimer:Once upon a time there was a guy he wrote a story with characters and settings he didn't own, but he put a disclaimer on his story and that made it a little less illegal. Batman was created by Bob Kane and DC Comics.   
  
Category:Batman/Catwoman  
  
Spoilers:Minor for TAS  
  
Warnings:  
  
Summary:  
  
Rating:Rated  
  
Distribution:Ask First.   
  
Notes:  
  
Dedication:Dedicated to the usual suspects; Genova aka Schweet, Bri, Mary, Duchess, Dale, Blaire, Stone Cold, Ice Wing, Arashi, Aslan, Vega, Tony D, Jen Zimmer, Louise, Sairs, and Queen Angel who have allowed me to bounce my ideas off them, and Krac, cause she has the evil bunny slippers.  
  
Something Else  
  
Gotham City was enjoying a brief reprieve of crime on this night. Things were quiet, muggers stayed at home, punks decided against knocking over liquor stores, the walls of Arkham held all her inmates snuggly… even the Mafia sat at home. The police had been given a rare night to sit and enjoy their donuts, and Gotham's sworn protector could merely stand on the roof of Wayne Enterprises and contemplate himself…  
  
He felt a wind blow by, it billowed his cape around him, obscuring much of his form. With a mental smirk, he thought of another caped crime-fighter, Superman. He'd met the alien once; they had both been on the same case from opposite ends. When they were finished, Batman had what he felt was an insight into the Man of Steel, an insight that he could draw from capes. Superman's cape was short, it didn't wrap him up, it was to make him more iconic. Larger than life, Batman knew for certain that Superman built himself up in his mind as larger than life.  
  
His own cape however, was different: long, dark, flowing and coming to points which not only mimicked batwings, but provided him with a different image. His cape seemed to swallow him into the night, making it seem that he wasn't quite human, which was intentional.   
  
After all, criminals would be far more frightened by their imaginations than by a man, he used that, he created his image and style with the intention of playing tricks on people. Was he real? Was he a ghost? Was he spawned from Hell? Most criminals didn't want to find out.  
  
He felt a presence long before he heard the soft footfalls. Scratch that, one criminal seemed awfully interested in finding out. He didn't move, other than an almost imperceptible smile flashing on his lips before his stone-like mask once more covered his face. "Somehow, I knew I'd see you tonight."  
  
He could hear a smile in her voice, "Somehow, I knew, I'd be the only member of the underworld you'd not cripple on this night. This is the one night all of Gotham's criminals are scared straight."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
He saw her standing next to him out of the corner of his eye, "They say you're more brutal on this night. In fact, it's a matter of Urban Legend that on this night, you've killed any criminal you've come across…" He raised an eyebrow under his mask, "But you and I know that's not true. You might send men to the Hospital, but never the Morgue."  
  
He nodded and noticed a few wisps of steam leave his lips, "I could never take a life, I'm not God, I don't have that right."  
  
She nodded, "No, you're not God, you might be the Devil though."  
  
"I'm inclined to agree." Finally, Batman turned, "Why are you here? Last time we saw each other, I let you go on the condition you'd give up the Costumed lifestyle."  
  
Catwoman smiled and gracefully took a seat on the edge of the roof. With a fluid movement, she swung her legs over the edge. He watched her for a long time, her feet swaying in the air. "I wanted to ask you something about this night." With a grin she patted the ledge beside her. He looked at her, and after a moment's contemplation, shook his head. "I think I've earned it, I've given up crime. I only donned the costume in the hopes you'd feel safe enough with me to tell me."  
  
"I haven't left yet."  
  
She nodded, "For that, I thank you." Silence reigned for a moment. He realized in the silence, that she was special; all the others, Gotham's "Super-Criminals" tried to be his enemy. Catwoman, at most she only tried to be his rival; a challenge. The Joker may call what he did with Batman a game, but it was always deadly serious. The "game" he played with Catwoman would border sometimes on friendly.   
  
It might be why on a night that all criminals hid, she not only braved out into the world, but actively sought him out, why he could stand with her on a ledge and not drag her kicking and screaming to the police. "You want to know why this night is different from every other."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm not sure I could tell you."  
  
Catwoman nodded, "Then might I offer a theory?" His only reply was silence, "An anniversary."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"Your birth. Batman was born on this night, long ago on this night, something happened that made you promise to destroy evil. It's what drives you."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
"Can I tell you a secret?" Again silence was his answer. "You and I are so much alike, I knew that we were born the same way. We each lost someone important to us when we needed them most, and we've both turned to this world as a result. Only difference is I turned to crime and you turned to destroying crime." She looked up at him for uncounted moments before he turned to her.  
  
When their eyes locked, he found something he didn't see often, something he could never see in his own eyes. Tenderness, her eyes softened for him, after a moment he felt microscopic cracks forming in his stony expression, she must have seen them as she smiled slightly, a smile of reassurance. "How old were you when you lost them?"  
  
"Young."  
  
She chuckled, and a small part of him enjoyed the silk-like sound. "'Young?' A boy? No more than ten I'd imagine." He grunted an affirmation, "One or both?" When he didn't respond she seemed to mull it over silently for a moment, "Probably both, right in front of you. Shots ringing out in the night, two cries and a small boy suddenly found himself all alone. You couldn't understand why it happened; you only knew that the pain was so horrible that no one else should ever experience it." He grunted. "You lost everything that night, didn't you?"  
  
She stood and faced him, trying to see into his soul he imagined, "You vowed to avenge every young boy or girl who lost someone or something important to them, and protect those who hadn't lost."  
  
He felt his mouth twitch slightly; he was torn between denying her insights and running away from a wound that would never stop bleeding. When he decided on the latter, his feet betrayed him and he couldn't move, "You don't know anything."  
  
Her eyebrow arched and she stepped closer to him, "You want to run right now, but a part of you, a part you thought died that night is desperate to admit I'm right." She reached out slowly and placed her left hand over his heart gently, he reached up with the intent of removing it, forcefully if he needed to. However, it seemed the same treachery that kept his feet rooted, caused him to only gently cover her hand. "I know you, better than any of them. They only know this," She slid her hand up his chest until she gently caressed his mask. "The façade you have built up."  
  
His jaw clenched as he desperately fought to clamp control down over raging emotions that were buried long ago. "That's by design, sensitive men were never meant to fight the likes of The Joker or Scarecrow."  
  
She grinned, "You assume I mean them, I meant anyone who might be in your life when the cape is put away." His eyes narrowed, "I'd imagine you could count those people on one hand, and they're probably all involved; your little Birds, Robin and Nightwing and of course Batgirl, maybe one other, but that's it. You probably shut even them out."  
  
He nodded slightly, he was floored, she knew him so much better then he thought, even his relationships with Tim, Dick, Barbara and Alfred. Her hand slid down and gently traced his jaw, "You've shut them out so long that they've accepted your cold shoulder and give you the distance you want. They never bother looking beyond to see it."  
  
"See what?" He was surprised at how his voice sounded in his ears, did he hear a tremor?  
  
She was pressed against him now, "The raw bleeding wounds that you have never allowed to heal, they can't even scar, they bleed and bleed and you spend every night out here tearing them open with your own hands all over again."  
  
He growled and turned away from her, trying to break her spell over him, "Why did you come here? To torment me?"  
  
She reached up and turned his shoulder until he faced her again, "I came because I saw you standing outside my window last night. You stood on the roof across the street watching me for who knows how long knowing full well if you'd come down that my door was open for you. When I watched you leave I had a vision. It was a vision of you, old and alone, everyone you ever loved were either dead or had walked away from you. You might have even roped some young kid to pick up the fight with your help, but at the end of the day, you were all alone standing at a window watching a city you saved from itself, but in your heart you had never healed." He watched in silent horror as tears slid down her cheeks.   
  
"I saw that morbid future and cried myself to sleep. The man I loved was broken and willing to live out his days alone, desperately clutching to his hurt as it's the only real feeling he has left." She stepped towards him and buried her face in his chest.  
  
He was surprised when his body further betrayed him by wrapping her up in his arms. The wind caught his cape and billowed it around them, a casual observer would only see him standing guard over the city, but if anything had happened at that moment, he would let Gotham be damned for the first time since his "birth."   
  
Right now all that mattered was the one person who looked at the ten year old boy inside the stone and as she desperately tried to heal young Bruce's broken heart he felt iron walls inside him rust and shatter and the stone behind them crumbled. His defenses failed him, defense that had withstood onslaught after onslaught from countless foes. At the sight of one woman's tears they caved in on themselves with the fact that her tears were for him.  
  
Who was she to cry for him? Who said she was allowed to do something he could never do, mourn his own loss? It was his pain, it kept him out here night after night because no one else could. It belonged to HIM! She wasn't allowed to sympathize or feel his pain. She had no right to pity him.   
  
He was the night made manifest, he was the Dark Knight of Justice. She couldn't be allowed to cry for him, if he let her do that, eventually he'd be just like the alien, just some iconic tradition for Gotham City. How strange that love could do what bullets couldn't, at that moment love was killing him.  
  
His voice shattered the silence of the night, "What is it you want, a house with a white picket fence, three kids and a dog? I closed the door on that life long ago Selina."  
  
She stepped back and looked at him with anger roaring in her eyes, "Don't you dare try to use my name to take power over me."  
  
He looked down with a feeling of shame, "I don't know how to live any other way than this, and you deserve better then waiting night after night, wondering if I'm going to be fast or strong enough tonight, or if Robin or Batgirl will have to tell you that I'm gone."  
  
"And what do you deserve?" He couldn't answer. He didn't know how to answer. Her eyes filled with questions, "You don't think this is all you deserve do you?"  
  
"I can't give this up."  
  
She closed the distance between them again, "I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking you to let me in."  
  
He shook his head slightly, "I wouldn't know how."  
  
She smiled slightly, "We'll start small. You know my name, I want to know yours. Just your first name, if need be."  
  
It was more than just his name she was asking for. If he told her, she'd be inside, all the way inside. She'd be closer than the others. She already knew him better than the others, if she knew his name, he'd never be able to hide from her. The only question left was did he want to?  
  
"My name is Bruce."  
  
She smiled, "Bruce." She stepped back, claiming his hand as she did, "Come home with me Bruce. I want to take care of you, even if just for tonight."  
  
He followed her across the roof; he didn't want to hide anymore.  
  
--End-- 


	2. Partnerships

A high-pitched manic cackle ripped into the night air, alerting anyone who might be listening that the Clown Prince of Crime was hard at work reeking havoc on Gotham City for his own amusement. It was perversely fortunate for the citizens of Gotham that his plan this night did not involve their imminent destruction, but rather just a mundane (for him) robbery of rare gems and art from the city's museum. 

The Joker sat on one of the many crates found on the loading dock while his goons were loading items into their truck with an old-style megaphone alternating between instructions and his seemingly endless laughter. Meanwhile, his number one henchwoman and "main squeeze," as she liked to say, Harley Quinn stood with a checklist marking off the priceless treasures on their list as the goons loaded them in. Occasionally the young woman would cast adoring gazes in the Joker's direction. "Almost done, puddin."

If anything, the criminal mastermind's unnaturally wide smile became even bigger, "Excellent Boo, and not a moment too soon either." He held up an oversized novelty alarm clock with his own image on the face. "We don't have much time before the long arm of the law reaches out to grab us."

She cast him another starry-eyed look and spoke cheerfully around her piece of bubble-gum, "Gotcha Mistah J!"

High above the heist on the roof of the theater across the street an onlooker stood in the shadows; they lowered their small binoculars and stepped out of the dark to reveal an athletic female form wrapped up in form fitting black latex. Her cowl covered most of her face except for a pair of goggles with yellow-tinted lenses and had two ear-like protrusions on top to mimic the ears of a cat. As though that wasn't enough proof, the bullwhip attached to her utility belt clinched her as Gotham's greatest (cat) bugler, Catwoman, better known to some as Selina Kyle.

She reattached the binoculars to her belt and tsked, "Making enough noise to wake the dead, no real sense of style." She observed the scene for a moment longer with an appraising eye, Joker's cackling and melodramatics might be fine for holding the Gotham City dam hostage or threatening to blow up an orphanage but to a thief like herself they were incredibly gauche.

For that alone, she would take a lot of pleasure in what she was about to do. With a casual grace she took out her brand new grappling line and looked at it for a moment. She shook her head and grinned slightly, '_Boys and their toys_' she thought as she took aim for a light pole between the theater and the back alley of the museum.

A press of the trigger fired off the line and the grappling hook at the end wrapped securely around the light pole a moment later Catwoman was swinging off the roof and landing gracefully on the roof of the truck in a crouch. She performed a handspring and leapt to the ground in front of the stunned Joker. She rose to her full height and found she had everyone's full attention, she smirked and spoke. "What? Were you expecting someone else?"

Joker regarded her with a raised eyebrow, "To be honest Kitty-girl, I really was. You stole his entrance and everything." Selina took a step and the clown turned to keep her in his line of sight, "What are you even doing here? Everyone knows you went legit." He almost convinced his permanently cheery features to form a pout as Harley stepped up to his side and wrapped her arms possessively around his neck. "Such a shame too, you really were the second sexiest female criminal in town."

Harley smirked and kissed his pale cheek, "Thanks puddin!"

"My pleasure pookie."

Selina cocked her hip and folded her arms across her chest in an annoyed fashion, "Her? Please!"

Joker's eyes narrowed mischievously, "Now ladies, don't fight... We don't have any whipped cream or jell-o." In a brief moment of solidarity both women scowled at the typically male remark. He giggled at his own joke and spoke again, "I ask again, what are you doing here?"

She felt a lazy grin stretch her lips and she drawled, "Oh, I'm waiting."

Harley narrowed her eyes suspiciously then untangled herself from her boss and stepped into the intruder's face. "For what?"

A new voice, low and rough came out of the shadows behind the Joker, "This."

The clown's eyes widened and he turned around to come face-to-face with the big black bat logo on the chest of an even bigger black Bat. He had only a split-second to look at it before a black gauntlet sailed through the air and caught him across the jaw with tooth-cracking force. The right cross spun him like a top and his eyes were already rolling back into his skull as he crashed headfirst into the wall and slumped to the ground, out cold.

At the same moment, Selina gripped Harley's wrist and with an expert twist of her hips sent the moll sailing over her head into one of Joker's goons and the fight began in earnest. She ducked a haymaker from another goon and came up with a spinning kick that drove the heel of her combat boot into his temple, downing him almost immediately. As she completed her kick she gripped the handle of her whip and drew it back. With a flick of her wrist the whip cracked through the air and caught one of Joker's gunmen on the hand, causing him to drop his weapon and clutch it to his chest with a howl of pain.

He looked up just in time to the see her soaring through the air in a kick that sent him flying off the dock to the pavement below with a crash.

Flowing from that attack into her next, she brought her whip through the air in an arc and trapped another one of Joker's gang by the ankles. A quick jerk yanked his feet out from under him and his head smacked against the ground sending him into the darkness as well. With a flick of her wrist, Selina loosened her whip and brought it back for another swing as she scanned the area to see that she and Bruce had laid out all of Joker's goons as well as Joker himself.

Bruce was tying up two slumped men and she noticed Harley sneaking up behind him. An over-sized wooden mallet held over her head to deliver a crushing blow to his skull. As she tensed to bring it down on his head, the Dark Knight spun and a bat-a-rang whistled out of his hand. It sliced through her mallet and the head dropped to the ground with a thump.

Harley grinned sheepishly and dropped the handle. She held up her hands in surrender as Bruce rose to his full height and most ominous posture. "Okay, I give up."

A seductive smile slid onto her face and she stepped up to Bruce then laid her head on his chest while she ran her hands delicately over his arms. She looked up into his face and cooed, "Say Batsie, is there anyway I could convince you to let me go? I really want to go legit, I mean Mistah J's been manipulatin' my fragile sensibilities all this time and I'd do anything to get out of his clutches and I mean **_anything_**." She batted her eyelashes and her voice dripped with honey as she pouted. "Please?"

Batman raised one hand and pointed over Harley's shoulder. The former psychiatrist turned and saw a scowl on Catwoman's face that would shatter iron right before her fist crashed into the underside of her chin. She slumped against Batman then to the ground and the last thing she heard before her senses were swallowed by the night was Catwoman growl out, "Bitch."

&&&&&&&&&

Selina stood over the red-and-black clad woman's unconscious form and ground her teeth. While she never considered herself a jealous woman, seeing Joker's harlot hanging all over her lover like a cheap suit had her blood boiling.

She actually lost track of time as she seethed because the next thing she realized Bruce had everyone tied up and cuffed while she could hear sirens approaching. Gotham's Finest were finally on the way.

She looked up at Bruce and noticed an almost microscopic upturn of the right corner of his mouth but on his stone face it might as well have been a wide, arrogant grin. He was clearly pleased with himself, the sight of it had her even more angry than Harley's antics. "Don't say it. I swear if I hear one quip about a 'catfight' I'll tear a strip out of your hide." As he wrapped himself up in his cape she could almost see his eyebrow cocked beneath his black mask. She took a step forward and hissed out a harsh whisper, "I mean it Bruce. Not. One. Word!"

Headlights flooded the alley, and his strong arm wrapped around her waist, she stifled a gasp of surprised pleasure then instinctually wrapped her arms around his neck possessively. She barely noticed the sound of his grappling line firing into the air a split second before they shot into the air as well.

As they flew up towards the roof of the museum she felt his murmur rumble through her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

He landed soundlessly on the roof a moment later, she held onto him for a fraction of second. To anyone that might see them it wouldn't even be noticeable but to her it felt like a lingering embrace. When she stepped back most of her anger was sated and she found herself smirking up at him playfully, "Oh, you can dream about it baby, I don't mind. I encourage your fantasy life."

His cape swirled around him as he turned and crossed to the other side of the roof. "Funny" was his only reply. She trotted after him while he reached into his belt and produced a small black box; he pressed the button on it while he stopped at the ledge. She looked over the edge to the Batmobile in the alley beneath them, the engine roaring to life as the canopy opened.

He stepped off the edge of the roof and used his cape to slow his fall. He landed gracefully in the driver's seat and looked up towards her. She shook her head and muttered, "Such a showoff." She stretched her hands over her head and performed a back hand spring to land a few feet away from the edge, she took a running start and dove off the roof.

She landed gracefully on the fire escape of the building on the other side of the alley. She didn't miss a beat as she leapt onto the ladder. She pressed her heels on either side and slid all the way down at the first floor landing she pushed off from the ladder and curled her body into a somersault to land easily in the passenger seat next to him with a smile. He closed the canopy and spoke with rare amusement, "Showoff."

She feigned hurt, "Not all of us have a billowing cape to cushion our fall, so we improvise."

He stepped on the accelerator and they sped out of the alley into the night. Both pleased at how easily they had worked together.


	3. Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast

Saturday morning had long since dawned on Wayne Manor when sixteen year old Tim Drake was roused from his slumber by Alfred Pennyworth. He rolled over and cast a bleary eye on his digital alarm clock to read the time as half past ten. Like most young men his age, Tim considered this far too early to be dragged out of bed, especially when he'd been up late the night before finishing his homework so he might be able to join his Guardian, Bruce Wayne for his night job.

Unlike most young men his age, Tim didn't have the most normal after-school job, in fact neither did Bruce. He and Bruce were better known to the citizens of Gotham as Batman and Robin. While Tim's job didn't pay, it did have a certain prestige as while most of his school friends were tearing tickets at the local Cineplex or mowing lawns or uttering the phrase "Do you want fries with that?" Tim was out fighting to make Gotham a safer place to live if not outright helping to save the world. Plus, Bruce was one of the five wealthiest men on Earth; Tim didn't really need a job to keep him knee-deep in video games.

That wasn't to say there wasn't a down side to being the second young man to carry the mantle of Boy Wonder. Bruce was often about as friendly as a glacier and half as talkative, he had to constantly train his body to keep his body and mind sharp, he had to keep his GPA hovering around four at all times or Bruce would retire him… and, or course the mortal peril. After all, criminals weren't exactly playing nice when Batman was involved.

Tim felt he was doing well, he'd been working as Robin for a little over four years, since he was just a kid of twelve, that was actually younger than his predecessor Dick Grayson, by almost a year and nearly five years younger than Batgirl aka Barbara Gordon. Tim had done more of his growing up as Robin than he'd done as Tim Drake.

This had led to all sorts of problems to be sure. After all, most boys of twelve are entering a very interesting time in their lives, when girls stop being silly and infested with cooties and start being rather compelling creatures. Tim was by no means an exception, he'd found girls **_very_** appealing.

However, when you spend your nights battling the forces of evil in the form of women like Roxy Rocket and Harley Quinn, sixteen year old girls loose some of their luster. And it was difficult for Carly Martinez, the captain of the Cheerleading squad to hold his attention when the first woman he got to Second Base with was the buxom Poison Ivy. (Even if it was during a fight and entirely by accident, it was still… memorable.) He could still remember trying to fight off his blush as he slapped hand cuffs on her, not to mention a very uncomfortable conversation with her too.

It's a little difficult being all dark and mysterious while a villainess is giggling at your blushing face. Even when she kisses your cheek at the gates of Arkham Asylum and says you're welcome.

Hallmark just doesn't make "Sorry I grabbed your boob while foiling your evil plot" cards and Dr. Drew on the radio just didn't cover "asking out a super villain." As for Bruce, he was simply no help at all. As they were driving away from Arkham, Bruce asked him what was wrong. Tim, being naïve enough to think he could trust Bruce to take the situation seriously, told him everything.

Joker would be jealous of Tim, because he'd gotten the one and only belly laugh Tim could ever remember out of Bruce without the aide of Joker's laughing gas.

To be fair, it wasn't just the villainous ladies that caught Tim's eye, Bruce had worked with the Justice League off and on for a while now and he got to see Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl and Supergirl in action on at least one occasion. Hawkgirl and Supergirl's outfits were relatively tame of course but Wonder Woman was a teenaged boy's wildest dream… literally. Her running around in knee-high boots and a glorified swimsuit had Tim pulling at his collar and walking with a limp.

But none of these women did more for Tim Drake's libido than Barbara Gordon, Batgirl herself. Her form-fitting costume left him supremely thankful that he yellow cape was only waist length and not teasing the ground like Batman's. He found himself distracted on more than one occasion watching her twist and flip through the air in her costume and sometimes when she was performing a feat of acrobatics she would grunt slightly and it took all of his control not to groan as the sound alone was enough to bring his blood to a boil.

Her blue eyes and red hair were often the subject of his daydreams and he found himself paying more attention to the movement of her lips than the words she spoke. The twenty-two year old woman was on Tim's mind more than just about anything. It was certain; Robin had one hell of a "bat-crush" on Batgirl.

He filed thoughts of Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman and Barbara away for another time as he pulled on a pair of jeans and his T-shirt and left his room. He stifled a yawn and stumbled into the bathroom to brush his hair and teeth. Minty-fresh and tangle free he padded silently down the hall to the grand stair case.

Arriving on the main floor he stifled another yawn and undid whatever his hairbrush had accomplished with his five-finger comb. The result was a bleary-eyed teenager with wild spiky-hair. He pushed open the kitchen door, fully expecting to see Bruce sitting at the island; coffee in one hand, newspaper in the other and breakfast spread before him. He never heard him come in last night but it never failed, no matter how late Bruce came in or how early Tim rolled out of bed Bruce was always up already when Tim finally made it to breakfast.

So he was surprised when he found only Alfred presenting a plate of pancakes and a tall glass of juice. "Good Morning, Master Tim. Your pancakes."

Tim gave him a grateful smile, "Thanks Alfred." He crossed the room to the island, picking up the remote and turning on the TV to find Sportscenter to wait for the score of last night's Goliaths' game, pausing every so often on a cartoon or two.

After topping the pancakes with a generous portion of strawberry jam and slicing off a piece he looked around to try and find any sign of Bruce. "So Alfred, did I finally pull off the impossible and beat Bruce out of bed?" He then gleefully popped the forkful into his mouth.

The Englishman chuckled and shook his head, "No. It seems Master Bruce never came home last night." Alfred then got an odd look on his face, "Though I have a theory about where he could be."

The young crime fighter paid the butler no more attention as he turned happily back to his breakfast.

A few moments later the kitchen door came open and a black haired man entered, though he wasn't Bruce. This man was several years Bruce's junior and his hair was much longer than the last scion of Thomas Wayne ever kept his. This man was Dick Grayson, formerly Bruce's partner, Robin and more recently the leader of the Titans, Nightwing.

It was barely a year ago that Dick returned to Gotham and nearby Blüdhaven. He and Bruce finally managed to reconcile their strained relationship. While they didn't work together very often, it was no longer a rare sight to see Dick set foot in Wayne Manor without a having a crisis upon them.

He scanned the kitchen subtly before his steely gaze settled on Alfred, "I saw the news in the paper, any word from Bruce?"

Tim paused in his chewing for a moment, wondering at what he was missing from the paper. Alfred seemed to know as he merely smiled and said, "No word, but I'm not really worried."

Dick too a seat at the island and a moment later Alfred handed him a cup of coffee. He regarded the butler with incredulity, "Are you kidding? Nobody has ever messed with his head the way she did, he went after her again and again and every time she screwed him up just a little more. So now she's back on the scene and you aren't _worried_?"

Alfred shook his head with a grin, "Master Dick, it wasn't always like that-"

"You weren't there each time he dropped her with the cops Alfred, I was for years. Every single time watching his eyes watch her, she crushed him every time he turned her in. I'll tell you this; tonight I'm hitting the streets and running her to ground."

"You talk as though she's Talia al Ghul or Pamela Isley-"

Tim had heard the name before, Talia and her history with Bruce was known to him but he never heard about Bruce and Poison Ivy like that before. Did Bruce dabble in dating with Ivy too? He filed that thought away to ask about later, "Please Alfred, neither of them ever sent Bruce around the bend. Not like her. He can't see straight when she's around-"

Alfred let some of his decorum slip as he threw his dish towel onto the island. "It's not like that Master Dick, he's been… happy and I think she's at the center of that."

Tim had been watching the two men arguing much like one viewed the volley of a tennis match, but he quickly became annoyed at being out of the loop. "What's going on, who are you two talking about?" When the two men ignored him he stuck two fingers in his mouth a let loose with a piercing whistle. Seeing he had Dick and Alfred's attention he asked again, "Who are you talking about?"

Before Tim could get an answer the kitchen door opened again, this time admitting Barbara Gordon. The young woman looked around, "I heard she was back in town, how's Bruce taking it?"

Tim scowled, not only did it seem everyone knew what was going on but him but he had to watch the "Dick and Barbara" show. It was no secret that Dick and Barbara had shared a long romantic history, at the end of which was a messy break-up that rivaled the blow out Dick and Bruce had. Barbara and Dick could suck the fun out of the room whenever their eyes fell on each other, even though Dick was in a relationship with some witch named Raven.

As for Barbara, well Tim made it a point not to know if Barbara was dating as it would not be pleasant to know that some idiot was with her when it really should be him. On cue, Barbara and Dick locked eyes and there was a giant sucking sound signifying the escape of fun. Nighthawk then spoke in a tense tone of voice, "Barbara."

The redhead regarded him with a smile tight enough to sing like piano wire, "Dick."

Tim noticed out of the corner of his eye the way Alfred watched the former couple as they stared each other down. Dick coughed and spoke, "How's school?"

"Good, I should be finishing up soon, top of my class."

He nodded and searched for words, "I'm glad."

The tension in her false smile increased, "How's Raven?"

It was as though Barbara had stabbed Dick in the chest for a brief second, "She's good. We're considering getting married actually."

She nodded, "Good… that's… I'm happy for you."

Tim frowned at the sadness in Barbara's face and not for the first time wanted to hit Dick Grayson with a bat-a-rang between the eyes. He finally managed to speak to the object of his affections, "H-hey Barbara."

He winced at the way he stammered around her, but Barbara didn't seem to mind as she gave him a smile and said, "Good morning Tim, finish your homework last night?"

He flushed under her attention, "Y-yeah. I-uh… Thanks for lending me that book, it helped on my paper."

She crossed the room to him and took up the vacant seat and it took every ounce of will power he had not to look at her toned legs as she gracefully crossed them. It wasn't fair for her to wear skirts like that _and_ expect him to carry on a conversation. "No problem, I remember what AP Physics was like, so I'm happy to help you."

He blushed under her attention, and could only watch her turn back to the others. "So, what's going on?"

Tim finally remembered what the topic of tense discussion was before Barbara arrived, "I don't know. They were talking about someone messing with Bruce and I'm not sure who they mean."

Barbara gave him a smile and Tim grinned back sheepishly, "They're talking about Selina Kyle."

Tim looked at the other two adults and frowned, "Catwoman? But she gave up… She's retired isn't she? I mean, that's what Bruce told me a few months ago." He turned to Dick, "And what do you mean about her screwing with Bruce's head?"

Barbara frowned, "Oh Dick…"

"I've seen him and her together and it never seemed like she was screwing him up. Besides, we're talking about Batman here. The guy is a brick wall no one and no thing gets to him. Not ever." He grinned and folded his arms over his chest, "If I know the Big Guy, and I do, nothing she could do will get to him and he'll make her wish she stayed retired."

Dick sighed, "I hope you're right kid." Tim bristled at being called "kid." He may not be as old as Dick but he was by no means a kid. But the older man shook his head, "I won't take that chance though. I'm going to look up some of her old haunts on the Computer so I'll have a place to start with tonight on patrol."

By the time Dick had left the kitchen bound for the den Tim and Barbara were only a couple steps behind him. Alfred remained in the kitchen to clean up after Tim's now forgotten breakfast.

Just as the trio was about to enter the den, the clock concealing the entrance to the Batcave slid aside and the two people they had been arguing about made their entrance mid-conversation. "It's just ridiculous… her sexier than me. I mean, it's-"

Tim Barbara and Dick all stood frozen in stunned silence, not by Selina entering Wayne Manor from the Batcave, but by the expression on Bruce's face. The man behind the Bat was smiling, completely entertained by the woman in his company at the moment. He finally spoke with a chuckle, "'Ridiculous?'"

Selina whirled on him with an incredulous look, "Are you mocking me?"

He raised his hands in surrender, "I wouldn't dream of it, Selina."

She whirled away from him dramatically, "Don't get me started on that tramp either, shoving her tits at you just to get out of trouble." She flounced in a mocking fashion over to him and used her upper arms to press her breasts up and together then spoke in a exaggerated imitation of Harley Quinn, "Oh gosh Batman, I'd nevah want to hurt anyone. It was all Mistah J, why just look at my giant breasts!" She batted her eyes in a mocking fashion. "You probably like that, don't you?"

Bruce cocked an eyebrow at her, "Selina, I didn't-"

She nodded in a placating fashion, "Sure you don't, I mean it's not like you didn't date Harley's girlfriend in the past. You and that damned silver tongue probably finagled a threesome out of them."

"I'd never-"

Tim looked to Barbara and whispered, "What's she mean by Harley's girlfriend?"

The young women didn't tear her eyes from the heated discussion but answered his question, "Harley and Poison Ivy share more than just an apartment, Tim. They're off and on lovers."

Tim's brain short circuited at the mental image that formed in his mind, "She a-and-and Poison Ivy are like… lesbians?"

Dick smirked and nodded and Tim's mind could only manage one thought, "Holy Crap! That's awesome!"

Unfortunately, Tim voiced his thought rather loudly and drew the attention of everyone. Selina rolled her eyes, "Oh good, the gang's all here."

While visions of Ivy and Harley danced through Tim's brain, Bruce took the opportunity to diffuse Selina's anger with a secret weapon, "Selina, I'm not arguing about this. I think it's rather obvious, that my favorite villain has always been you."

The comment not only stunt the group into silence but had the intended effect on her, she smiled slightly, "Really?" When he nodded her cheeks turned pink and her expression softened completely. "Bruce, you're making me blush!"

He pulled her to him and said, "Absolutely. Not once did you ever try to ensnare me in an elaborate death trap, hold the city ransom or take hostages. Compared to the others, you're a breath of fresh air."

She gave him an eye roll and spoke in a dull tone, "Bruce, you're making me blush."

Bruce turned to them and cross the room. "Give us a moment, we'll be right down."

Before they could reply, he pulled the door shut in their face. None of them moved for a moment then they heard Bruce's muffled voice, "I can hear you out there."

Dick chuckled while Barbara pulled Tim away from the door. Meanwhile, Tim wondered if a stakeout of Poison Ivy's apartment might be in order.

&&&&&&&&&

Selina watched all traces of humor slip from Bruce's face as he turned back to her, "You know what I thought the first time I saw you?" She didn't answer, she was interested both in where he was going and what he'd thought the first night he saw her. He stepped away from the doors and crossed the room slowly and casually, "'Nice legs.'"

She almost laughed; it was so unlike what she expected it to be. "When I call you a breath of fresh air, I mean it. Not for the reason you might think. It's not that I didn't take you seriously, or considered you somehow 'easier.' It's because of all the costumed-criminals I've faced since becoming Batman; you are the only one to ever give me hope."

She looked up into his bright blue eyes and felt the need to close the remaining distance between them, but she had to finish this. She had to know. "'Hope?'"

He grinned; not a smirk or that blasted " Wayne" smile, not the smug expression that she saw the night before but a grin. Almost out of character, if she didn't know one thing. Bruce felt safe with her, safe to not be Batman. "Hope that I haven't crossed the line, hope that I'm making a difference, hope that I'm making things better and not just beating up the bad guys. Hope that I can save people and not just arrest them. That's why you're more important than the rest. Because you actually tried to become better and succeeded." Then, as though it was never there, the grin was swallowed whole by that " Wayne" smile, "That and your legs."

She clasped his left hand between hers and kissed his knuckles, "That speech… Bruce." She shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Has anyone ever told you that you have a melodramatic side?"

He didn't miss a beat with his reply, "Why do you think Batman is the strong, _silent_ type?"

She conceded his point with a squeeze of his hand, "Point taken, now unless I miss my guess. You have a very long conversation coming at the breakfast table."

He chuckled in return and pulled her out of the den by the hand, "Not to mention a long conversation about Harley and Ivy with Tim. Thanks for that by the way, he's still an impressionable young man and I don't enjoy explaining things like those two."

He opened the door and she step through with a mischievous grin, "Bruce, if a sixteen year old young man in the information age _doesn't_ know about Lesbian, I'd be worried."

Bruce chuckled, "Point taken."

**--End--**

**_Author's Note: _** I say end as I don't know if I'll continue or not. I honestly didn't think I'd ever continue it from the first story, but I did so there you are.**  
**


	4. Lessons

Selina Kyle stood atop the Wayne Industries Research and Development Headquarters and watched the spring storm slowly rolling towards Gotham from the southwest. The flash of thunder within would occasionally illuminate the cloud mass for a few moments and the breeze it pushed at her was both cool and refreshing at the same time. It would be an early-morning thunderstorm, the first such storm of the season.

The woman smirked at the thought of lying in bed wrapped around Bruce and listening to that storm tapping out a rhythm on his bedroom window. She relished the thought of stretching languidly in his arms, naked flesh sliding along naked flesh both of them encased in satin sheets. She could almost hear Bruce's breathing as she imagined the scene.

Five months had passed since that night on the roof of Wayne Tower, when she'd finally broken through both Bruce's defenses and her own fears concerning him and taken him as her lover.

Since that night it became commonplace for Catwoman to be seen with Batman and his "family" fighting Gotham's criminals. A month later, it became commonplace for Selina Kyle to be seen out with Bruce Wayne; former playboy-billionaire turned reclusive businessman.

She found that she enjoyed the former more than the latter; "Bruce Wayne" was a far different man than Bruce Wayne. Once upon a time "Bruce" had been a pompous ass with a martini glass firmly in hand and any number of giggling socialites on his arm. That had changed not long before they'd gotten together. He'd decided that a billionaire industrialist in his thirties acting like a hermit was a far better cover than a man in his thirties desperate to hang on to a young man's glory.

He'd stopped going to clubs and the number of parties held at the Manor had dried up considerably. At the same time he'd spoke to the right people "in confidence" of his parents' death weighing on him more heavily as he grew older. Once the stories in the gossip section began to speak of him in pitying tones, Bruce was free to play the quietly grieving man brooding at his window.

She often suspected the cover worked so well because it was far closer to the truth.

To be with "Bruce" it required her to play the part of a slightly-overbearing girlfriend. She "dragged" Bruce out to keep him from retreating into his shell, which meant she had to feign interest in Gotham's High Society crowd and their mind-numbingly boring parties and functions. Functions she had pretended to enjoy when she was younger so she might work out security for all the priceless baubles that caught her eye.

Truth be told, she hated those events as much as Bruce did. Long ago she'd told him they were like two halves of the same coin, a part of him enjoyed being Batman and the freedom it allowed him to leap from rooftops and take down the bad guys. She'd enjoyed being Catwoman just as much and leaping from the rooftops for the sole purpose of getting Batman to chase her was simply the thrill of a lifetime.

She'd wondered for years what it would be like if Bruce were to catch her; she feared the spark would go out once they were no longer playing the game. She feared that Bruce wouldn't measure up to Batman. She feared she'd be put into the position of giving up Catwoman. But mostly she feared one or both of them would screw it up.

Surprisingly enough, five months in and none of her fears had come to pass. Not that their relationship had been all candy and rainbows… or their version of candy and rainbows. Bruce was a world champion brooder and she occasionally traded her wall-climbing claws in for more metaphorical ones, especially when Poison Ivy was stirring up trouble or when Bruce had to work with the ever-pretentious Justice League and the Amazon.

They had the occasional fight and she'd stormed back to her apartment on more than one occasion but the good did in fact outweigh the bad. Perhaps that's why Bruce had asked her the other night…

The flap of cloth in the wind alerted her to the arrival of someone from Gotham's cape club. She turned to find Robin standing next to her, youthful eyes hidden behind the lenses of his mask. He was unlike his predecessor. Dick Grayson even as a young Robin always seemed to her to be chafing at his role, always wanting more than sidekick. As he grew up and started college things between him and Bruce soured and eventually fell apart. He was Bruce's son and eventually the son will outgrow his father's chosen role.

Tim was also like a son to Bruce, a younger son who looked up to Bruce in a way Dick never had. He loved his role as Robin and his place at Bruce's side. While the natural outgrowth for Dick's time as Robin was Nightwing, with all the care and effort Tim put into following in Bruce's path she knew one day that the Cape and Cowl would eventually be his to wear.

Tim looked over the edge and pulled something from his belt that his mentor never kept there, a stick of gum. He opened the foil then popped the gum into his mouth and began chewing as he folded the wrapper until it resembled a paper airplane and sent it sailing into the night. 'Then again,' she thought with a smirk 'he's still a sixteen year old young man. '

"So, did he send you out to find me?"

He shook his head, "Nope. Him, Nightwing and Wonder Woman are over at Star Labs. She had a tip on a robbery." He grinned and turned to her, "Bruce was **_pissed_**." He grabbed his cape and wrapped it around him then spoke in a surprisingly accurate imitation of Bruce's alter ego, "'This is my city, how many times do I have to say it?'"

Selina scowled at the mention of the Amazon Princess, she seemed to appear in Gotham every few months or so to sniff after Bruce like some love-sick school girl. Selina was not a jealous woman, but several women in Bruce's life tended to chase after him and the Amazon was chief among them. It didn't help that Wonder Woman lived up to Tim's description of "walking, talking, ass-kicking sex on two legs" either.

She swallowed the surge of jealousy and gave him her best care-free smile, "Then to what do I owe this visit?" He looked away and flushed until his ears were practically glowing, "Ahh, girl trouble." She sat gracefully on the ledge and watched him take a seat next to her, his feet dangling over the edge. "So, what mystery of femininity is it that has you baffled?

He sighed and a frown furrowed his brow, "Barbara."

She chuckled lightly, "Ah, so it **_is_** true. So tell me, is it part of your training? Does Bruce like Robin to have a crush on Batgirl?" When he scowled at her darkly, she feigned shock. "I'm just wondering in case the next Robin is a Girl Wonder."

He gave her a scowl that was very reminiscent of his adoptive father, "I get enough of this stuff from Nightwing and Alfred." He pulled his grappling gun out and prepared to leave.

She stayed his hand, "No, Tim. I'll listen."

He looked at her warily for a moment before he spoke, "I know it's kind of ridiculous to entertain this crush on her, she's twenty-two and I'm still a month away from turning seventeen. You don't see too many twenty-two year old women looking at a High School kid and saying, 'that's someone I want to be with.' I just can't stop thinking about her, you know?"

She smiled sympathetically at his hopeful look, "I do, I think everyone's liked someone older and more mature than themselves at some point or another. You, and Dick before you, were in a bad predicament as you're thrust into this adult world and I imagine you're forced to grow up very fast so you guys have trouble with relationships with girls your own age." She smiled, "If it helps, you do have great taste. You must get that from Bruce."

He smirked, "He does alright."

"Tim, I don't know what to say. I know what Bruce would say; he'd tell you to take your time, find a girl your own age whose chief concern is the latest boy band. He'd say that adult relationships are difficult under mundane circumstance, but when you factor in this," She swept her arm along Gotham's skyline, "They become nearly impossible. He'd say Barbara is too old for you and that he doesn't really want you pursuing a woman at your age anyway."

Tim had started chuckling during her guess at Bruce's words and she grinned, "How close am I?"

"Pretty much dead on, he went into this awkward tangent about girls and hormones and trailed off somewhere around 'I don't want you getting some girl in trouble.'"

Her laugh rang through the night then she shook her head in dismay; "'Get a girl in trouble?' I swear sometimes that man is stuck in the fifties." A friendly silence settled between them which she ended, "Well I'll spare you the agony of an 'in the family way' tirade and just say that if you do decide to go there with a young woman be careful." She cut a wicked look at him, "You keep protection in your utility belt, Robin?" When he turned scarlet and suddenly looked to the streets far below she laughed again and said, "You do!"

He cleared his throat, and tried to give her his best glare. A glare that, while good, just didn't compare to Batman's but it did have the effect of giving her pause long enough to realize who she was talking to. A young man confused and frustrated by his feelings and seeking out her advice as a mature adult and she was laughing at him.

She sobered and said, "Okay, you want my advice?" Tim perked up and tried to suppress how eager he felt. She grinned and crooked a finger to beckon him closer for some conspiratorial counsel…

&

Diana always marveled at the differences between how Bruce and his protégés worked compared with the other members of the League. Had she told Clark about the robbery tip, Clark would have stormed the labs and subdued them.

After sending Robin out on patrol, Bruce had contacted Nightwing and Batgirl and had them meet him across the street from Star Labs. When they met up with his two partners she started towards the Labs. Bruce gripped her shoulder and turned her back to him. He then growled out, "If you insist on coming into my City, you do things **_my_** way. That means we do recon, get their numbers and only then will we go in."

With an almost imperceptible nod from Bruce, Nightwing and Batgirl disappeared and he was swallowed whole by the night a moment after that. It took a few minutes before she realized that Batman and his partners had very subtly left her on the sidelines and fury rose up within her. She was a member of the League, she was a full-time member unlike him yet here he was treating Gotham City like his personal kingdom and her like an amateur.

Clark never had problems with them working in Metropolis, on the contrary, he welcomed the help. Batman came and went as he pleased, he didn't allow them to even speak to Batgirl or Nightwing to offer membership, he didn't attend meetings except to swoop in with some cryptic information, he used his equipment to spy on them and tap the computers in the Watchtower and worst of all, he flaunted that… that **_Harlot_** around like some sort of trophy wife.

No matter what Flash said, she was not jealous.

A thief. He deserved better than a thief who'd flaunted her activities in his face. Someone who could understand his quiet honor and yet he pursued her because she taunted him. Diana wondered what this thief could offer Bruce that she could not. Batgirl interrupted her thoughts when she landed lightly on the roof with practiced ease, the young redheaded woman then said; "Batman said that you're with me, he also wants you to remember that we rely on stealth." She smirked slightly as Diana scowled.

She then swallowed some of her pride, Clark had told her what to expect. He'd come to Gotham last month to try and track down the Toy Man and when he arrived Bruce had told him to act as a lookout when they finally tracked down the deranged toy maker, he didn't even allow the others to set foot in Gotham she supposed she could count herself lucky. "I understand."

She took off and followed Batgirl to a darkened window on the ninth floor of the building. They paused outside the window and Batgirl whispered, "The robbery is in progress two floors above us, about seven of them that we've spotted. Batman and Nightwing are entering from the roof. They're disabling their chopper, we'll cut the power for the building then meet up with them. When the power's cut the building goes on lockdown-"

Diana finally forgot her anger as Bruce's plan unfolded before her eyes, "You'll cut off any escape routes and plunge them into chaos."

Batgirl quietly slid the window open with a wink, "Welcome to Gotham City."

The pair moved silently down the hall until Batgirl found a breaker panel, she opened it with a lock-pick from her belt. The young woman then reached into another pocket and removed a small EMP charge. After she placed it in the breaker box and armed it she led Diana towards the stairwell. The pair crept up the stairs on the lookout for some of the robbers to subdue them before they could warn the others. Once on the proper floor they made it to the lab.

Diana could hear them rifling through files and she could see sparks dancing in the room from the cutting torch they were using on the safe inside. She looked to Batgirl as the redhead pressed her ear piece into her ear to listen better. The woman nodded then whispered, "Copy."

Her free hand found the buckle of her utility belt and she pressed a control. Moments later, every light flickered before plunging them into darkness. Emergency flood lights came on and she heard the sounds of guns cocking inside.

One of the men inside stammered out, "What's happening?"

A woman's voice was next, "Oh God! It's the cops!"

A more confident woman's voice replied, "No way, we didn't trip any alarms."

A second man spoke in a cowardly tone, "I-if it ain't the cops… then it's **_him_**!"

Batgirl produced a bat-a-rang and a smoke bomb, "Now!" She threw the bomb into the room and it filled with smoke. She charged in and threw the weapon into the room, Diana followed subdued one of the robbers with her lasso. She glanced to the left and saw Nightwing lay out one of the men with a punch and Batgirl catching one with a heel kick to the temple.

One of the women opened fire on the pair with a machine gun and pinned them behind a filing cabinet. Diana surged across the room and landed a pulled right cross that sent the woman crashing to the floor (hopefully without a broken jaw.) Before she could turn she felt the barrel of a gun press into the base of her skull and heard the hammer cock.

A man growled from behind her, "I don't want to see you so much as twitch."

A shadow stretched out to her left and they both turned to see a black form half-obscured by smoke and darkness. All she could make out was the black material of his cape and the ears of his cowl while the white lenses of his mask burned out of the darkness, they narrowed to slits as he looked from the gun to the crook holding it.

The man stammered behind her, "Don't move Bats! I'll-" She'd never learn what the gunman would threaten Bruce with because he surged forward almost too fast for her to see. The pistol clattered to the floor as the Dark Knight and the robber both crashed through the window, the latter screaming as they tumbled out of sight.

Seeing Batman had seemingly killed their cohort, the others instantly dropped their weapons and surrendered. Nightwing and Batgirl moved to cuff or tie them up but Diana could only stare out the window in worried awe, so she was the first to see a grappling line shoot through the jagged fragments of the window and embed itself in the ceiling. A moment later Batman sailed back into the room, the robber landing in a trembling pile at his feet.

The robbery attempt was officially foiled.

Any of the others would have quipped at that moment; Bruce merely wrapped his cape about himself and scowled.


	5. More Than a Warm Place for the Night

Diana stood on the roof, they'd met up at with Nightwing and Batgirl while Batman was on the street below, standing in the shadows near Detective Montoya no doubt filling her in on the robbery attempt.

Seeing Bruce not only in action but in his element brought her to a realization. She could finally understand why Bruce had been so resistant to them providing help in Gotham. It wasn't because he worried it would look like the city was beyond even his control and it wasn't that he was loner. It was that they'd be in the way. She was arguably one of the five most powerful beings on earth and more than likely second only to Superman within the League and during that fight she was in the way. She felt almost useless and almost became a hostage for a moment.

He did things his way because he didn't have the luxury of powers to fall back on so he had to prepare. His partners were all known quantities, he'd trained them all so thoroughly that he knew how they'd react in any situation, he didn't have that with anyone in the League and not having that knowledge could cost him or someone else their life.

She turned at the sound of someone landing on the roof behind them, she turned to find Robin standing on the roof next to Batgirl and Nightwing, it occurred to her then that she knew almost nothing of Bruce's three partners other than Nightwing was the original Robin. Clark and J'onn knew more, but they only knew what they knew by less than honorable means. He'd volunteered nothing about himself to them. Yet she persisted in her pursuit.

Robin stepped up next to her and looked over the ledge to the street below, she scowled at Nightwing when he came up behind Robin and shoved him, they reminded her of Flash and his juvenile antics. Robin pushed back and the two chuckled before the younger man brought up that weekend's baseball game between Metropolis and Boston.

Her thoughts turned back to the thief, and what he saw in her. She'd heard from John that Catwoman had been seen on the East Side of Gotham as well as working with all three of them in the past few months. She seemed to work most often with Batgirl, but John had noticed that when Bruce went after the heavy hitters he took her with him.

That implied that he trusted her more then he trusted anyone, even his partners. That kind of trust from someone like Bruce… it drove Diana almost insane with jealousy.

"You're wondering aren't you?"

She turned to see Batgirl standing next to her looking down towards Bruce as well, "Wondering what?"

"Wondering what he sees in her. Why he'd trust a thief and not someone like you." Diana turned a glare on her that would have half the League squirming.

Batgirl's eyebrow disappeared under her mask while Robin laughed, "We've seen glares like that for years. We've also watched this scene play out three-"

Nightwing grinned, "You forgot Ivy."

The redhead nodded, "Four times in the last five months, both in and out of the cowl and we knew the second you came into town that this was about Catwoman and not a robbery that our regular patrol routes would have led us to."

She fisted her hands on her hips and sighed, "Fine, then what is it about _her_?"

Batgirl started to speak but she was cut off by a deeper voice, Batman's. "She understands." They all turned to see Bruce standing on the ledge. Batgirl walked off and Robin trotted after her.

Bruce turned to Nightwing, "Escort her to the nearest League transport spot then hit the south side, Thorne needs a reminder." He turned back to her and with perfect timing a cloud passed in front of the moon casting a deep shadow over his face, "Tell Clark and the others, stay out of Gotham."

With a flourish of his cape, Bruce produced his grappling gun and cast a line out towards a taller building and disappeared into the night. 'She understands,' he'd said but she knew what she was meant to hear, 'You don't.'

That was the moment she did begin to understand, and it was painfully simple. Whatever it was Bruce wanted in a mate, she didn't have. Not now, not ever.

&

Barbara walked away when Bruce appeared, even though she knew that the confrontation between Batman and Wonder Woman would be as short as it would be brutal (on his side) but it should still be relatively private.

She noticed Tim walking with her, she smiled at the young man and noticed the color on his cheeks. She had to give it to Tim, when she was in high school, boys avoided the girls they had crushes on to avoid embarrassment. Tim at least had the guts to talk to her. That was worth at least some points in her book.

He cleared his throat, "So… I… Well, I mean…" He scowled then took a deep breath then started again, "I like you, okay. Selina said I should at least tell you, so there…" She laughed lightly, and bumped her shoulder into his to soften the blow to his ego, only to realize he'd been growing like crazy recently, he was as tall as her and he'd be as tall as Bruce before long.

She looked up and saw Bruce standing on the roof of the office building across the alley, looking directly at them, he disappeared a moment later. 'Speaking of Bruce…'

After a moment, Tim chuckled too, "I wasn't exactly being subtle, was I?"

She smiled, "Not exactly, but it's sweet, really. You're still too young though, you should at least try girls your own age." She nudged his shoulder again, "C'mon Tim, escort me on the rest of my patrol. And about the other thing…" She pulled out her grappling gun and turned to him with a wink, "If we're both single, ask me again on your eighteenth birthday."

Tim's face lit up as she fired her line and swung off into the night.

&

He swung down into the alley directly in front of the 'Mobile. After pocketing his grappling gun he pulled out the starter for the car and pressed the button. The canopy popped its seal and opened, he found that she had broken into his (nearly) impregnable car (again.)

Selina stretched as though she was snoozing when he found her then gave him a sleepy smile, "Mmm, it's about time you got here."

He gave her his best stern expression and said, "Let me guess, you needed a warm place to spend the night."

She must have remembered that exchange because she smirked and said, "Something like that."

He jumped into the car, closed the canopy and flipped the ignition switch, "I can think of one."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her face light up as he took off out of the alley, "You say jail and I'll whip you."

They moved down the street and he felt a grin tug at his lips, it didn't do much more then turn his stone face into a slight smirk, "I think you know what place I have in mind."

A few moments passed in comfortable silence before she spoke, "How's the Amazon?"

"Stubborn and arrogant."

She grinned and then spoke with a touch of annoyance, "Sounds like a match made in Themyscira."

Bruce nodded and thought to himself 'Jealous as Hell.' He then spoke, "There's a difference between her and I."

She tilted her head inquisitively, "Which is?"

He turned to her for a fraction of a second, "I'm not boiling over with jealousy over you."

She gave him a wide smile, "So the Fantastic Feminist is jealous of me?"

"Enough to tear you in two."

Silence settled over them again for a few minutes, they passed a patrol car then crossed a bridge into The Narrows. The East Side borough of Gotham had improved slowly over the years. It was a little after three in the morning and while it was still crawling with human vermin, they at least had the good grace to scurry out of his headlights these days. He sighed slightly, 'One Day I'll save even this part of Gotham.'

They turned off the large boulevard onto a side street and Bruce noticed two prostitutes wave and wink at him as he passed. Dick and Tim would always crack a joke at times like these, which brought Bruce to another subject, "You've been talking to Tim."

She chuckled, "I have. He needs someone to talk to, and you were no help. 'I don't want you getting a girl in trouble.' Honestly Bruce, who gave you The Talk?"

"Alfred."

She laughed outright at that, "That does explain things."

"You told him to talk to her."

She shook her head, "He's almost seventeen, he needs to be able to confront his feelings if he doesn't want to spend his twenties and a good portion of his thirties chasing the love of his life across Gotham's rooftops."

Bruce frowned, "He's too young to be worrying about that."

Selina leaned across the car and rested her cheek on his shoulder, "He's precisely the right age to be worrying about girls."

It was at that moment when Bruce was struck by the perverse normalcy of this moment. Here he was, driving home from a late night at work with his girlfriend discussing his son's dating woes. It was damn near the last conversation he'd ever expected to have in the Batmobile.

Selina's voice broke him from his musings, "We should talk about last night."

Bruce nodded, "Yes."

She sighed, "You asked me to marry you."

He turned the car again, heading out of town towards the Manor. "You said no."

Her tone turned frustrated, "I said 'not yet.'" She scowled when she was met with silence. It wasn't his usual silence though, he wasn't trying to intimidate her, he simply didn't know what he could say. She looked out towards the street then spoke more gently, "It did sound like a 'no,' didn't it?" She reached up and pulled off her goggles. Her cowl came off next, "I wouldn't make a very good trophy wife."

"Who says you wouldn't?" He turned to her and looked deep into her emerald depths before he turned back to the road, "I don't want a 'trophy wife.' I just want a wife, Selina." As always with him, what was most important was left unsaid, 'I just want **_you_** as my wife.'

He took comfort that her eyes softened in a way that said she knew what he hadn't said. "You know, Robin told me once that you thought you were at your best when you were miserable. He said when you were at your darkest you were most focused."

Bruce nodded in agreement, he felt that way himself sometimes. Other times…

"Tim has quite a few theories about you. Theories a father should discuss with his son." She gave him a pointed look.

He looked at the road ahead of them for uncounted moments before he said. "Is this the job of the boy's mother?"

Selina laughed silkily then said, "You may be his father but I'll never be Tim's mother Bruce, at best I'll be a friend and occasional sounding board for him."

"Some might call that the role of a Step-mother."

She shook her head, "You are relentless, aren't you?"

He smirked slightly, "That's why you always wanted me to chase you."

She reached out and ran her fingers delicately along his jaw, he felt a shiver run up his spine and heat radiating through him from her touch, "I wanted you to chase me because I knew when you finally caught me… it would be explosive." The way her lips and tongue caressed every syllable of that last word was erotic as hell and it caused his foot to press down even more on the accelerator. However, when she leaned into his ear and whispered, "Take me home and make love to me Bruce and I'll say yes." He buried the accelerator in the firewall.

She did say yes, come the morning.


	6. Nightwing Loves the Redheads

_Nightwing Loves the Redheads_

In Gotham City it was a warm Friday night in late September. The heat of summer had almost given away to the winds and rains of autumn and most people were enjoying the brief period where one could enjoy the day with the windows open without drowning in sweat and walk down the street without a coat in the early evening.

The trees planted every twenty feet by the Gotham Public Works Department were still lush with green leaves but if you looked closely you would find some beginning to turn from green to yellow, red or orange. Letting all who saw them know that very soon those coats they went without tonight would be needed.

One resident of Gotham who didn't care one way or another was Oswald Cobblepot. Most residents of Gotham know him as the Penguin. It wasn't terribly long ago that the sight of Penguin walking down the street in a suit flanked by two burly bodyguards and carrying a cane that was stylized to look like an umbrella might have had people scrambling in terror.

Not that some people weren't watching the three men as they exited his apartment building. They just weren't fleeing for their lives. Earlier this year, after a stint in Blackgate was cut short when he helped Batman break up Sal Maroni's smuggling ring, Cobblepot had gone legit.

Well, mostly legit.

Upon his release Oswald did not return to his criminal escapades but rather use the money he had managed to squirrel away in off-shore accounts to open a club, The Iceberg Lounge. With a shrewd business sense he used his notoriety to make the Iceberg into something of a hybrid. In addition to a fine menu of food, a dance floor and the best bartender he could find he placed some of his less lethal and (mostly) legal trophies from his years as a master-criminal to draw in the tourists.

He bought a gaming license and opened a poker room to bring in members of the old mafia families like the Falcones and Stromwells (then quietly fence stolen items) and kept the place open late enough to draw underlings of the new mafia, the cape and cowls set.

The final touch was a secret known only by two men. The listening devices he placed all over the club in the penguin-shaped lamps on every table. Sure the information wouldn't be admissible in most courts but Batman didn't mind free information and usually put it to good use.

So the most Bat trouble Oswald ever got was a very annoyed glare from Batman when he came in and a superficial trashing and roughing up to make it look like he beat it out of Penguin. This in turn brought more tourists in, hoping to see Batman in action. It was decisions like this that quickly made Oswald successful enough that he was simply too busy for crime.

This didn't matter to the people eyeing him warily and slinking away from his mere presence. They were simply acting out of preservation instinct when faced with a man who'd orchestrated crimes which put all of Gotham in danger on more than one occasion.

He was used to it by now. The only time the average person mattered to Oswald was when they were a paying customer, so their opinion of him rated very low.

What probably should've mattered to Oswald were the men flanking him, Peter and Michael McDonald. Both were loyal and well-paid bodyguards, protection that a man who despite being reformed knew enough about what was going on in the city was in serious need of at all times.

If one were feeling generous and poetic they might call the McDonald brothers first-generation Scottish immigrants looking to carve out a piece of the American Dream. If one chose to be a bit plainer in their description they would tell you that Peter and Michael signed on with the first freighter they could find after running up a rather large gambling debt with the wrong people only to jump ship in the first American port to come along.

They took the job protecting Penguin because he paid well and he asked as many questions about their dealings as they did about his, none. He didn't care about Peter and Michael when they weren't at his side so why ask questions?

As it turned out, Oswald was about to regret this attitude. Peter and Michael were not exactly upstanding citizens. In short, they were animals. In Scotland they had been in and out of prison half a dozen times for assault and in the few months they'd been in Gotham they'd beat up more than their fair share of people. The night Penguin hired them they'd just brutalized two men behind the Iceberg solely for taking their seats at the bar. They enjoyed violence and went out of their way to find it.

One of their passions was bareknuckle boxing, both watching and fighting. In Gotham the Falcones ran the sport. The Falcones were also using the underground boxing events to distribute heroin to their dealers during the fights.

As it so happened, two costumed crime-fighters had separately tracked the supply chain to the fights and both had hit on following the McDonalds to crack their cases open.

One of the two had been tracking them for days patiently and the other had been track them. As for the patiently part, not so much.

The first crime-fighter was watching from the alley, her eyes were hidden behind white lenses in a black mask that covered most of her face. Her pale cheeks and jaw were uncovered. Her lips were painted red and were set in a grim line. In contrast to the pale skin was bright red hair that teased her shoulders.

Her costume was black, skin-tight material concealed some Kevlar body armor in vulnerable places. She wore a long black cape that tapered in a style that would be familiar to another costumed crime-fighter in Gotham City. Unlike Batman, her cape had a crimson lining the same color as the crimson of her boots, gauntlets and utility belt and the prominent logo on her chest, a bat in flight.

Better known to friends and family as Kate Kane, Batwoman was new to Gotham, she'd only been working a few months and this was her first time dealing with any of the major families. She'd followed a similar path as Batman had years ago; she'd started by taking on small-time thugs, then their buddies, then their bosses, then the street gangs, the pimps and finally she began to crack down on the drug trade.

Three weeks ago she'd busted up a heroin dealer in the Bowery and with a little help from her father she'd managed to learn that the Falcones ran the heroin trade in Gotham. It had taken Kate three weeks of pounding every Falcone thug she could find but she'd hit on the distribution through their fighting ring. Now it was just a matter of letting the McDonalds lead her to one.

Unknown to Kate, on the roof of Penguin's apartment building was the second crime-fighter and he was far less patient. Dressed in all black, his only real distinguishing mark was the large red logo of a bird in flight across his chest and back, the two birds met at his shoulders and trailed all the way down his arms until they ended at his black gauntlets. Most of his face was covered by a black mask and his eyes were also hidden behind white lenses. Not covered by his mask was a head of shaggy black hair and annoyed frown.

Nightwing twirled one of his eskrima sticks in his fingers while he followed the McDonalds. Unlike Batwoman, he'd stumbled across this heroin ring rather by accident ten days ago in Blüdhaven. He'd had a hard summer when Raven had given back her engagement ring and left him back in June. After a long May where the couple fought about everything, Raven found she just couldn't be with Dick anymore and left.

By extension, Blüdhaven had a very hard summer because Nightwing cracked down harder than usual. Six days ago, Dick had been in the middle of an early patrol when he'd seen a drug deal in progress in a Jr. High parking lot. He saw red and didn't remember too much of what followed. The buyer got away but the dealer would eventually be dropped in front of the nearest police station plus a broken collar bone and minus four teeth.

The next night he came down like a sledge hammer on three other dealers before they'd given him the name Falcone. The day after that he was back in Gotham and raining fists down on every H-peddler from Park Row to the Bowery. In fact, Bruce and Selina found him with a dealer named Sweet-Pea strung up upside-down like a tetherball off a lamppost behind a Taco Bell.

With Dick playing bad cop to Bruce's worse cop, Sweet Pea soon told them all he could. Nightwing then spent the next two nights tracking down someone involved with underground boxing and that lead him to tonight and the McDonald brothers. He was only waiting for them to get out of the crowd then either Peter or Michael would be lucky if they only walk with a limp for the rest of their life.

Truthfully, Dick was grateful they were muscle for Penguin; Cobblepot's presence was clearing the crowd faster than he could hope. By the time the trio had walked from the entrance to Penguin's apartment building to the entrance to the parking garage he kept his car in, Dick had an opportunity.

With practiced ease, he holstered the eskrima sticks and dove from the roof, there was a steel cable hanging between the two buildings advertising the Gotham Blades' upcoming hockey season. He gripped the cable and swung halfway around before letting go. He then tucked himself into a backwards somersault before he untucked and landed feet first on Peter McDonald with a satisfying crunch.

Penguin tumbled backwards with a squawk but Michael reacted as Dick had been hoping he would. He threw a punch straight at Nightwing's mask; the problem for Michael was that Nightwing wasn't there anymore. With a single step he'd slipped under the punch, he'd coiled with that step and with his next step exploded upwards.

He led with his knee and unlike Michael's punch it struck pay dirt in the Scotsman's stomach. He curled around Dick's knee as the air exploded out of him. While Dick's knee was striking Michael's stomach, his hands curled around the eskrima sticks, he swung the weapons and they caught him precisely where Bruce had trained him to strike, the right elbow and knee. The hardened carbon destroyed the joints, essentially making his likely weapon arm and strong leg useless pieces of meat.

McDonald sucked in a breath that was almost instantly expelled in a cry of agony. Dick then looped his left arm around the man and pulled his grappling gun with his free hand. As he aimed he smirked at Penguin and said, "Sorry Oswald, I need to borrow your goon. Keep your nose clean, fish-breath!"

He fired off a line and shot into the air, McDonald's scream covered up the sound of a second line being fired from the alley.

#&#

Michael moaned as he was dumped unceremoniously on the roof. His right arm, right knee and stomach were competing for his brain's attention with messages of agony, he was dizzy from both the pain and the eight-story flight from the street to the roof and a distant part of his mind wondered how badly Peter might have been hurt.

Quite quickly all that paled when compared to his newest problem; Nightwing's boot on the side of his head, driving his face into surface beneath. "Listen up, last night your buddies at the Stacked Decked ratted you out. I'm going to drop you off with ICE, but first I've got questions I think you can answer." He ground his heel and Michael groaned again.

Nightwing continued, "Answer them quickly enough and maybe by the time the agents get you your medical attention the Doctors will be able to make sure you won't be crippled for life. Understand?" He punctuated the question with another grind of his heel.

Michael had little choice but to mewl with pain, "Yes."

A new voice, a woman's, called out, "Very good. Have you trained him to sit, yet?"

Michael was thankful for the interruption as it caused Nightwing's boot to let up a very welcoming fraction. "Funny. You look a little like Batgirl, but I've worked with her long enough to see more differences than hair color and uniform. Batman wanted us to keep an eye out for you."

The new arrival replied, "Batwoman, and I've been trailing the McDonald brothers for three days. Nice work down there."

Nightwing chuckled, "Aww shucks, Miss. T'weren't nothing' I haven't done before." He then ground his heel, "Mikey here was going to answer a couple of my questions then he's all yours."

"Batwoman" was closer when she replied this time, "Something tells me that you'll be asking the same question I would be."

"Underground boxing?"

"Mm-hmm."

He actually heard Nightwing smile, "Falcone's heroin trade?"

Batwoman laughed lightly, "No wonder they say you were the Boy Wonder."

Nightwing's heel ground down again, but this time it wasn't on his face. It was on his right arm, just above the elbow. Searing pain shot through every inch of him, "Hear that, Mikey? She's smart and gorgeous. Why don't you tell the lady where we can find the next match?"

The pain quickly made sure Michael wasn't going to do anything but answer, "The warehouse behind 'My Alibi!' One a.m. every Wednesday! Please!" The last word was more of a sob than anything.

Nightwing chuckled darkly, "You believe him?"

Batwoman spoke in a silky voice, "Pain is an effective truth serum."

Nightwing lifted his boot, giving Michael some very sweet relief. "Well Mikey, I guess we believe you." He then kneeled down and gripped him by the hair, "If you're lying… I will find you." Nightwing slammed his head down and blackness quickly claimed him.

#&#

Batwoman stood with Nightwing on the roof across from Gotham Mercy as the McDonald brothers were escorted inside by doctors and ICE agents. Both were very pleased with tonight's results. It was barely nine and they had the information they'd been chasing down. All that was left for tonight was to finish their patrols.

Finally the two crime fighters turned towards each other and Kate found herself looking at a smiling Nightwing. Even she had to admit, it was a very charming smile, "So, underground boxing every Wednesday. I could use some help."

She grinned slightly, "Don't you have Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Catwoman for backup at this point?"

He laughed and flushed a bit, "Yeah, but it sounds like you've put enough work into this. I'd want to see it through if I was in your position."

With a more genuine smile she said, "Thank you. I'll see you there Wednesday."

He gave her a boyish grin, "It's a date!"

She laughed at that and pulled out her grappling gun. She stepped forward and gave Nightwing a playful pat on the cheek, "You have _no idea_ how off base you are right now, kiddo." She fired off a line and left Nightwing behind as she swung through the night.

She couldn't wait to tell Holly about this tomorrow morning. Her girlfriend would die laughing knowing that the first Robin hit on her tonight.


	7. Girl's Night Out

_Girl's Night Out_

After Nightwing took out the McDonald brothers, Oswald scrambled into the garage and found his car. He raced out of the garage and drove for several blocks watching for police cars before he managed to relax.

It was several more block before he realized that he'd actually driven away from the Iceberg. This realization led him to angrily curse the Bat and all his little sidekicks until he was nearly frothing at the mouth all over again.

It took him five blocks to calm down enough to notice he was still driving away from his club.

Two blocks after that he actually turned his car around… Only to be run off the road into a hydrant by a convertible packed with some of Two-Face's boys.

As rage overcame him again and he slammed his fist on the horn, Oswald watched a motorcycle carrying Batgirl and Catwoman give chase…

#&#

Selina laughed over the sound of Barbara's bike as she looked back towards Cobblepot's wrecked car. "Looks like Oswald's having a bad night!"

As she turned back around the redhead yelled out, "Serves him right, he waters down his drinks!" As they laughed, the pair leaned in unison to help Barbara's rather sharp bank to avoid a cab which they passed at sixty miles an hour.

They'd been on the early patrol when they found five of Two-Face's goons ransacking a jewelry store. It was a job that was too small for Harvey to show up. It wasn't a surprise really, most of Batman's rogues rarely appeared on jobs. A lot of run of the mill jobs were done solely to gather up cash to fund bigger jobs.

It takes a lot of cash to poison hundreds of fish with joker gas or grow a fifty-foot tall Venus fly trap or buy twenty-two double barreled shotguns for a job on two branches of the Second National Bank of Gotham at two o'clock. As a result, most crimes that Batman and his partners dealt with were not that different from any other crime.

The difference this time was the truly poor timing of the crew. It was so bad that they burst out of the store and jumped into the getaway car at nearly the exact moment that Batgirl approached the store on her motorcycle.

She shifted the bike into its top gear then they banked again, this time into oncoming traffic and shot between two oncoming cars. Catwoman let out a whoop of joy as they did and Barbara smirked. One of the reasons she liked patrolling with Selina was that the other woman had so much joy. Bruce was always so stern that Barbara could almost hear what he'd be say if he was on the bike behind her. He'd be growling that they needed to catch them and bring the chase to an end before people got hurt or preparing a battle plan.

With Dick or Tim it would be a toss-up between planning their next step and a barrage of one-liners about her driving.

All Selina did was grip Barbara hips and yell, "Woo-hoo! This is way more fun than riding shotgun in the car!"

Batgirl let out a laugh then leaned forward and yelled, "Glad you enjoy it, hang on!" She flipped a switch, nitrous oxide was injected into the engine and they shot forward then back across the double yellow line. This time, they were in front of the getaway car.

She felt her passenger shift her weight, "This is my stop!"

Barbara watched in her rearview as Selina launched herself up and swung her whip, it caught a streetlamp and Selina swung over it in an arc. At her highest point, she flicked her wrist to let go of the lamppost and dropped into the convertible amongst Two-Face's men. She kicked one of the men in the back across the jaw and struck out with a back hand which caught the thug riding shotgun in the temple.

The driver finally reacted, slamming on the brakes in the hopes of jostling his unexpected passenger. Selina shifted her weight and continued pummeling the men in the car.

After Selina had jumped off the bike, Barbara accelerated and pulled several yards ahead before she swung her bike around one-hundred-eighty degrees. The getaway driver had made a crucial mistake; he'd picked a car recent enough to be computer-controlled which gave her a quick way to finish the chase. She reached into her belt and pulled out a custom batarang, this one designed to deliver a short-range EMP. It had just enough range to fry the electronics of a car.

Just as she shot by the car she let the batarang go; practice and research made sure it struck perfectly, right on top of the car's computer. It quickly armed and detonated, the computer crashed as microchips fried. The engine quickly died and the car rolled to a stop and by the time she'd turned around and returned Selina had dispatched the last of them. They made quick work of securing them for the approaching police.

Just as the first patrol car arrived, Batgirl had already fired up the bike and they took off into the night.

#&#

They stashed Batgirl's bike in an alley a few blocks down before taking to the roof. Barbara then reached into her belt a produced a rather ordinary looking smart phone. Selina watched the younger woman enter her password then navigated the phone's menu before she came to a specific program in the phone.

The program would never be found in any "app store," this was a custom designed program that only a handful of people in the world had access to. By activating the program, her phone stopped communicating to commercial telecommunication satellites via a cell tower and instead linked from that tower to a privately launched satellite which relayed directly to the computer in the 'Cave.

From there, she was linked to the others. She'd come up with the idea a few weeks earlier when she'd run across a few small-timers. It seems that an enterprising member of Falcone's crew with a talent for computer program had written and marketed a "Bat-App" designed to track sightings of Batman and company.

A few minutes later, she left the subdued trio of enforcers with one of their phones in hand.

Needless to say, Bruce was not happy at all when she told him of the program. He quickly cracked the program and a few days after that dumped an update into the network that crashed every phone and hard drive that held it. However, Barbara and Dick were struck with inspiration which led to her developing this program. It provided them with quick access to the Bat Computer's vast database as well as each other.

From there it had only been a matter of time until Dick turned it into a way to mock the Rogues from anywhere and if Bruce pretended he didn't notice their sarcastic comments in the profiles all the better.

He would have reacted differently a year earlier; he would've torn strips from all of their hides and reminded them that the slightest distraction could cost people their lives. Barbara, of course attributed Bruce's more mellowed approach to Dick's humor to Selina. Which was another reason the redhead appreciated the older woman's expanded presence in their lives.

"So Penguin had a run-in with Nightwing just before Harvey's punks ran him off the road, I suppose that explains why Oswald was so worked up." Even if it meant Catwoman read her phone over her shoulder while chuckling silkily at Dick's description of making Penguin soil himself and run screaming from the side of his broken bodyguard.

Barbara quickly entered a report on their run-in with Tow-Face's men and her guess that it was an exercise in gathering cash for a bigger job and uploaded it. At that point, deft hands plucked the device from her fingers and Selina began browsing the database, "Y'know, I've never actually looked through Bruce's files. I've helped him modify some of the blueprints he has in the computer but never the profiles."

Catwoman perched gracefully on a nearby ledge, "'_Dent, Harvey. Alias; Two-Face, Big Bad Harv…_' Etcetera, etcetera. At large after escaping Arkham for fifteen day… List of crimes, list of known hideouts, list of known accomplices…" Selina stopped and looked up with a smirk, "Bruce does his homework, and how did he know about Harvey and Pam?"

Barbara flushed, "Dick and I sort of caught them… in the act once."

The smirk on the former thief's face began to resemble the smile of a certain cat in a Lewis Carroll novel as she glanced between Batgirl and the profile. "Just once? No more than that, I mean there was a-" She stopped reading and her eyes shot to lock wide eyes on the redhead, "Bruce knows about the sex tape?"

Barbara suddenly found her boots very fascinating, "I may have… accidently acquired it thinking it was a security tape from a bank and …" She trailed off in embarrassment.

Folding her arms across her chest, Selina waited with an expectant look. Batgirl cracked a few moments later, "I might have played it in the 'Cave with Bruce and Dick. It may have also been while Dick and I were dating."

Selina didn't hear the second part; she was trying not to pitch over the ledge of the roof while laughing uproariously. Batgirl could understand the laughter, the mere idea of Batman, Robin and Batgirl at the Bat Computer and watching the screen intently looking for clues only to find Poison Ivy and Two-Face engaged in some shockingly rough sex was funny. Barbara herself laughed, six months later when she finally stopped blushing every time the pair's names came up.

She folded her arms at the former thief and patiently waited for Selina to stop laughing.

When she finally stopped laughing, Selina began looking through the database again. "Are all the entries this detailed?"

Batgirl shrugged, "More or less, some are downright scary. Joker's will keep you up at nights."

Selina nodded, "I don't doubt that. Joker's a monster and with all the obsessive attention he's heaped on Bruce over the years I can only imagine that he's spent plenty of time trying to pick the clown apart in return." She scanned over the profile, unsurprised by the detail of the profile. "Is this the most detailed profile?"

She looked up when Barbara didn't answer only to find the woman with a wide grin; Selina raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "What's so funny?"

Batgirl just said, "Look at yours."

With a bemused smirk, the thief quickly scanned the Rogues list where she didn't find her name. Then she looked over Bruce's profiles of allies and find her name, finally giving up, she went to the search function, and found "Kyle, Selina" on a list of its own.

She noticed a surge of smug satisfaction that Bruce would feel that she defied classification. When she opened the profile, it didn't seem too different from Dent's. There was a physical description that was accurate, when she read the approximate weight she found it annoyingly accurate. He had a list of her known aliases, equipment he'd seen her use, jobs she's done and any patterns he'd gleaned from them.

It was sadly dry, until she got to seemingly harmless section entitled, "Notes."

The first two were remarks about a fighting style she used against Bruce right before she gave up crime; it was the third that drew her next reaction. A smirk.

"_Amount of money found searching empty parking lots/rooftops 'for clues' while Batman flirts; $26.57. –Dick_"

This was followed by;

"_Number of times I've stood around awkwardly like a third wheel; Six. –Barbara_"

Her smirk became a wide grin.

"_Times I've been left behind when Batman suspects Catwoman will rob something specific: Nine. –Dick_"

"_Four. –Barbara_"

"_Twice. –Tim_"

"_Times I've been told to 'guard the car' while Batman tries to talk to Catwoman; Thirteen. –Tim_"

She felt a chuckle bubbling up from deep down as the comments continued.

"_Who are they kidding?_"

"_No clue, Timmy._"

She started shaking with restrained laughter.

"_This is the example Tim and I have had to grow up with._"

"_You'd think if all else failed, he'd at least try the 'Playboy' routine on her._"

"_She'd probably chase him off the roof with the whip._"

"_I actually saw him blushing one time._"

"_God forbid one of the others mentions her with Bruce. Just ask Green Arrow._"

"_You think that's bad; I think he might actually slap Talia the next time she utters the word, 'Harlot' in front of the Big Guy._"

"_I swear Babs, one of these nights they're going to go into their routine and both will snap then BOOM! Batman and Catwoman go at it right on the roof of the Gotham Museum._"

"_I hope to God I'm guarding the car that-_"

Selina didn't get to read anymore, she had dropped the phone and was gasping for breath as her laughter rang through the night.


	8. Robin Learns a Lesson

_Robin Learns a Lesson_

It would be safe for Oswald to assume he was having a bad night. He'd lost his bodyguards to Nightwing and Harvey's goons had caused him to do nine thousand dollars' worth of damage to his car. As he got out of the cab in front of his club, he'd decided he'd take the most expensive bottle of scotch they had and drown this horrible night alone in his office. As he had this thought he happened to look up and catch an unwelcome sight on the roof opposite the Iceberg Lounge.

Batman's partner, Robin.

One of the baby-bats was staked out to watch his club, the rotund man scowled. He was a legitimate business man. A restaurateur and a pillar of the community, he had gone legit months ago… Well, mostly legit, he only fenced now. He hadn't so much as knocked over a jewelry store in months and Batman still had his children watching him.

It was insulting!

Infuriating!

He slammed his cane angrily into the sidewalk and called out at the roof, "Bugger off you little bastard! I'm an upstanding citizen now!"

The crime-fighter didn't even have the decency to move.

Finally, Oswald turned and entered his club; he was going to get a drink and try to figure out which of tonight's patrons had brought attention from Batman…

Then he'd ban them for life.

Of course, there was a flaw in Penguin's plan. This flaw would have him searching quite fruitlessly until well after last call and have him furiously storming out of the Iceberg long after the last of his employees had slipped out to avoid his ranting.

Robin wasn't staking out the Iceberg. He wasn't watching Penguin, he never even heard the "legitimate businessman" yell up at him.

What had Tim Drake's attention was the tablet in his hand and the drawings displayed on the screen. There were similarities between the drawings, a general theme of red and black not too dissimilar to the red and black he wore now. He'd been working on the drawings for most of the summer along with a new codename.

Tim's time as Robin was drawing to a close. He had started his senior year of High School a few weeks before after spending his summer leading the Teen Titans. He still smirked at the thought. A team full of metas and aliens answering to the guy who learned from Batman. Connor, Bart, Vic; all deferring to him, because it seemed the best super power was knowledge imparted from the Dark Knight.

Two years ago, Bruce had told him that he would work with the Titans during the summer. He'd explained that it would be as much advanced training as it would be team building. A chance to learn how to operate with people other than Bruce, Dick and Barbara, and it would help him to learn how to work with metas.

Dick and Bruce had been getting along well at the time so he'd explained the Titans as; one part hero team-up, one part summer camp and one part kicking Doctor Light's ass. The quip earned a laugh from Tim and a half-smirk from the Boss. It also turned out to be mostly true, Tim had a blast with the Titans and made good friends with his teammates.

When Tim first joined the Titans, Wally West was still Kid Flash and as the oldest on the team he'd been the de-facto leader. When Barry Allen had died Wally had taken his place, both as the Flash and in the Justice League. As a result, last summer they'd gone without. But the more time passed the more Tim found himself taking charge.

This year they had just made official and it worked. The Titans flourished with him as the leader, and Tim had flourished in the role as well. It was this growth which brought him to the hard realization that he wasn't going to be able to grow as a hero and a man if he continued on as Robin so he'd begun work on a new costume and codename.

The name Red Robin was born quickly, he just didn't have a look yet. Tim had tried a lot of combinations; cape and cowl, cape and mask, mask and hood, full mask, half mask, armored helmet, half cape, full cape and the less he said about the logo the better.

He had a new appreciation for all the effort Bruce put into the design of the Batsuit. Fortunately, Cassie and Rose were all too happy to help him. They were a little _too happy_ to help even. After all, Rose's initial suggestion was that he simply fight crime in a speedo to which Cassie had readily agreed.

A joke he would've been fine with had Rose not brought it up during a full meeting of the team. Or if they hadn't provided an artist's rendering of him in a speedo, one that was uncomfortably accurate. He hadn't blushed so much in a long time, probably since the Poison Ivy incident.

Connor and Mia joked about the costume idea for days and he was pretty sure that Vic was never going to look at him the same way again. Still, it had been a welcome distraction. He'd received some unwanted news the day before that meeting from Dick.

Barbara was dating a guy from her Criminal Justice classes. Tim had spent a couple of days brooding about the news and quietly hating the guy, even though by all accounts he was a good guy. He was dating Barbara therefore Jason Todd may as well have been the Devil.

Especially after he heard Todd's story:

Jason had grown up on the streets and by the time he was in his teens was one of Gotham's many small-timers bouncing in and out of juvenile detention. In the first few weeks after Dick quit being Robin; Bruce had caught the fifteen year old Todd attempting to steal the tires off the Batmobile.

Bruce could see he was just a desperate kid not much younger than his former partner so he took Jason around town, showing him the worst part of the Narrows and then over to the MCU where he offered him a deal. If Jason straightened up and made sure he and Batman never crossed paths again, Batman would use his connections to get Jason a scholarship to Brentwood Academy and eventually GSU. He'd even talk to Commissioner Gordon about finding him a home.

Jason readily agreed and the pair talked to Gordon, Gordon then convinced Detective Montoya to take him in to live with her and Detective Sawyer. Jason flourished and it wasn't surprising that when he got to college that he decided to study Criminal Justice.

Still, for a few days Tim gleefully entertained daydreams where he caught Jason Todd ripping off a liquor store and pummeled him. Once he realized how childish those thoughts were he decided to finally take the advice that everyone and their brother (even Barbara herself) was giving him and seek out a girl his own age.

He was interrupted from his musing by footfalls on the roof behind him. He looked up and smiled, "Hey!"

#&#

Clark Kent always felt a little uncomfortable in Gotham City.

Perhaps it was the architecture; he was used to the gleam of skyscrapers and the crisp modern lines of the buildings of his city. Metropolis was called "The City of Tomorrow" for a reason, after all. The buildings of Metropolis seemed to welcome the future. Gotham's building reflected its past, and it reflected it well. The buildings loomed and pressed down upon you, casting long shadows that were an inky black even with the sun overhead. The newer buildings were designed to blend in with the gothic architecture of Bruce's Great-great-grandfather Alan, only adding to the moody atmosphere.

Her citizens seemed to embrace this attitude; they prided themselves on their toughness. The most popular tourist shirt for Gotham City proclaimed; "Gotham is No Place for the Weak." People from Gotham often felt they had to steamroll the rest of the world just to get by and every time Clark set foot within the city limits he could tell why. The city seemed to constantly feel as though it wanted nothing more than to swallow you whole.

However, Jonathan and Martha Kent raised a son who prided himself on honesty and they'd make sure he admitted, if to no one but himself, that the reason he didn't come here wasn't the buildings but the man who spent his nights leaping off them.

Bruce had made it clear that the other members of the Justice League were not welcome here. If one of their rogues came to Gotham then they could tell Batman and he would take care of it. It didn't help that Bruce had an uncanny ability to know the goings-on in Gotham so he usually found those who didn't heed his warnings.

Even on the occasion that he was here as Clark Kent and not Superman he'd invariably see Batman standing on a rooftop overlooking Clark's hotel room or see Bruce Wayne's face in a crowd. The message was always clear, "I know you're here and I do _not_ approve."

That is what made him uncomfortable, that feeling of being unwelcome. So he did his best to accede to Bruce's wishes and he advised other heroes to do the same. Bruce was his friend but he was also a deeply troubled man, there was no need to kick a hornet's nest by pressing him.

After a while he grew to accept that he'd never be truly welcome in Gotham so it wasn't exaggerating to say he was stunned when Lois handed him the phone this afternoon and he heard Bruce's voice on the other end of the line asking him to come and meet him on top of the Gotham Museum at midnight about an important question. However stunned he might have been he was still able to agree to meet him.

Bruce pushed his shock nearly into fear when actually said "Thank you" then hung up. Clark was poor dinner companionship for his wife that night and after a quick early evening patrol to clear his head he turned south towards Gotham.

He arrived over the city at just after eleven-thirty and as he flew between the skyscrapers he tried to focus on the distinctive sound of Bruce's grapple gun. He could hear several of them around the city as each of Bruce's protégés were out on patrol this time of night but as he landed on top of the museum he managed to focus in on Bruce's breathing coming from the roof of the Police Station nearby.

It was nearly midnight when Bruce made a near silent landing behind him, Clark turned and found his wrapped up in his cape. He'd seen the sight of Bruce in full "Batman mode" so many times that it took him a moment to recognize a subtle difference.

His mouth wasn't turned down in a stern expression or scowl but rather a neutral expression that quickly led the Kryptonian to realize he was not dealing with Gotham's Dark Knight but rather Bruce Wayne. His friend.

Clark found himself smiling, "It's not often I get an invitation from you, in fact, I think this is the first time."

Bruce stepped past him to the edge of the roof, "For everything, there's a first time."

He chuckled, "That's true, but a cordial phone conversation, a thank you _and_ an invitation to your city? All in one night? Is one of us dying or is this Armageddon?"

Bruce made an odd grunting sound that for any other person might be called a chuckle before he said, "Some people might believe it's the latter."

It was at this moment that Clark started to actually worry, "Is something wrong?"

Bruce turned to him and Clark really started worrying, Bruce looked almost… peaceful. "No, Clark. It's just that I've made a lot of changes in the last nine months and they seem to be leading to even more changes to come. I don't know how much you've heard, we've worked pretty hard to keep it quiet."

A number of scenarios were racing through Clark's mind at the wistful tone of his friend. It really sounded as though Bruce was being reflective. He was tempted to try his x-ray vision but Bruce had long since developed a material that blocked his vision and his suit was lined with it. So he could only press him, "Bruce?"

Bruce gave him another gruff chuckle and said, "I'm not dying, Clark. Selina and I are engaged and we'll be getting married in the spring." Clark was sure his eyes had gone comically wide as his friend continued on, "A small ceremony with about twenty guests between us. Neither Selina nor I have any interest in a wedding swarmed by the press so we've been doing our best to keep it out of the papers."

Clark finally found his voice again, "Bruce… Wow… I just- Wow!"

Seeing Batman actually smile, in the cowl was perhaps the most disturbing sight Clark had seen in a long time. Then Bruce continued, "I've already asked Dick and Tim to be my Groomsmen but I was hoping you'd be my Best Man. If not, I'd understand. After all, I couldn't attend your wedding and-"

Clark finally laughed and said, "Are you kidding? It would be my honor! I'm just shocked!"

The smirk Bruce gave him was far more fitting with the cowl, "You hide it well."

Clark shook his head, "With all the surprising things you've said and done tonight I'm not sure I could take it if you started quipping."

Bruce nodded then held out his hand, "Thank you, Clark."

With a grin, Clark took his friend's hand. "It's my pleasure."

Bruce released his hand and Clark watched the jovial posture slip away as Batman came all the way to the forefront. Clark followed Bruce's gaze and found the reason for his scowl, he felt an eyebrow quirk and he said, "Oh boy. I'm guessing he hasn't told you yet."

Bruce shook his head, his eyes riveted on the rooftop across the street where there were two easily recognizable figures in an embrace. The first was Tim Drake, Bruce's partner Robin. However, it didn't appear that the young man was staking out the Iceberg or fighting or even do his homework. No, Bruce's young partner had young woman pressed against the roof-access door and the pair was engaged in a somewhat passionate embrace.

As though that weren't surprising enough; in the glint of the moonlight Clark could make out the girl's shoulder length honey-blonde hair, red long-sleeved top and silver bracers. There was little doubt in Clark's mind that Robin was spending time with Cassie Sandsmark, his teammate on the Titans better known as Wonder Girl.

Bruce raised his hand to his cowl near his ear, "Robin! Status report!"

Across the street the pair jumped apart with both breathing heavily and flushed. He watched Tim activate his com-link and reply, "_Watching the Iceb-berg, Batman. Nothing to report._"

Thanks to his enhanced vision he could see Cassie fist her hands on her hips as her eyebrow quirked and she mouthed, "'_Nothing?_'" She then gave the young man a rather flirtatious pout. A moment later the couple laughed.

Clark had to stifle a laugh as Bruce let out a sigh, "I'm on the roof of the Museum. I can see you two, Robin."

The now mortified teens turned towards the roof. Cassie went bright red while Tim waved awkwardly at Bruce and Clark.

Before Tim could reply Barbara's voice came over the com-link. "_I'm with Catwoman. Who's Robin with?_"

Dick's voice was next, "_It can't be me, I'm at the docks. Wait a second…_"

Clark watched the color drain from Tim's face as he said, "_Oh God._"

"_Batman? Did you catch young Robin with a young lady friend?_" Clark could practically hear Nightwing choking on laughter as he asked the question. Clark could finally see that Bruce had gathered quite a family together and despite the dour nature of their patriarch, good-natured teasing was clearly a pastime between his sons.

On the far roof, Cassie buried her face in her hands while Tim hung his head. It was at this moment that Clark couldn't contain himself any longer; he let loose with a full belly laugh that quickly doubled him over. Bruce merely said, "Nightwing. Robin. Meet me on the roof of the Kane Building. We need to talk." He then cut off his com-link.

Clark sobered at this, "Go easy on him, Bruce. We were all seventeen once."

Batman produced his grappling gun, "This isn't the first time I've caught one of them. He's learned his lesson."

Clark smiled at his friend, "That lesson would be?"

Bruce turned to him and smirked, "Always mind your surroundings. Good night, Clark." He fired off a grappling line and disappeared into the night.

Clark leapt into the air and turned back towards his home with a smile on his face. One thought was on his mind, "Lois will never believe this."


	9. Heir to the Throne

_Heir to the Throne_

As Jim Gordon passed through the bullpen of the Gotham City Police MCU he noticed a clock on the wall that read a quarter-past-midnight and smiled. The GCPD Commissioner had a private rule, if he was still at Police Headquarters after midnight and not at a crime scene or on the roof with the Bat-Signal burning into the night sky, he was having a good night.

Good night being a relative term, of course. Even the "good" nights had him at his desk until three and in bed around four. Then again the bad nights might mean Joker had taken control of the nuclear power plant and had started a meltdown simply because it was a Wednesday.

He scanned the room and noticed most of the desks were vacant. It was another _very_ good sign. Only three detectives were still at their desks.

At the desk nearest the vending machine was Harvey Bullock. The large man's face was pinched in concentration as he typed up a report on an arrest he'd made earlier with his traditional two-finger typing style. Harvey had bagged a pair of Two-Face's boys and after an hour of interrogation they cracked and informed him they'd been casing the Second National Bank on the East End as part of a quartet of robberies.

It may have been obvious; Two-Face always hit four branches of the Second National when he needed cash. The difference was that they now knew that he'd be hitting them soon. This meant they could plan.

Harvey looked up and grimaced, "I swear, the worst thing you ever did to me was pull me off the beat."

Jim laughed, "Harvey, look at it this way; would you rather be typing up reports or writing tickets?" He left his friend grumbling about his report.

He then turned his attention to Ellen Yin; the young woman had logged her computer off and stood up, "I finished my report on the MacDonald assault, Commissioner. We're turning him over to ICE in the morning."

He nodded, "Very good, Yen. Enjoy your evening."

She laughed, "Oh yeah, I'll be home just in time for my fiancé to have started snoring." After pulling on her coat and saying good night, Yen left for the night.

This brought Gordon to the last of his officers still on the clock, Renee Montoya. She was one of his most trusted officers and he was proud to call the younger woman a friend. He'd met her when she was still a fresh-faced beat cop during his first year as Commissioner. She'd proven her ability quickly and he promoted her and put her on the MCU.

He'd stood by her proudly when she and Maggie Sawyer came out of the closet as a couple, and he'd hoped that his steadfast support of them had prevented most of the fallout for them.

Jim had even helped the pair start a family a few years earlier when Batman had brought a young boy into the MCU to find a foster home. He'd brought Maggie and Renee into his office and convinced them to take the boy and today Jason Todd attended Gotham State University. To his consternation he learned Jason was also dating his daughter. But he'd heard enough good things from Maggie and Renee over the years that he'd promised Susan that he'd keep an open mind.

"What are you working on tonight, Montoya?"

She smiled, "It seems Cobblepot has been quite busy tonight. Nightwing roughed up his bodyguards, Two-Face's goons ran his car off the road and according to a patrolman he just chased his patrons out of the Iceberg in a drunken rant."

Jim tried not to smirk, but it was hard when someone like Penguin was having a lousy night, "They running him in?"

She chuckled, "No, they're letting him off with a warning and I instructed them to keep an eye on the place."

He nodded, "Good. Anything else?" When she shook her head he replied, "How's Maggie?"

Renee laughed at the mention of her partner, "She's embarrassed. Almost ten years on the Force and she's never been injured, one game of basketball with our son and she tears her MCL. I told her to watch out for Jason's crossover after it put me on my ass."

Jim laughed warmly with his friend, "I learned not to play sports with James and Barbara a long time ago. James has a slap shot that can take someone's head off." This time Renee laughed before he started towards his office. He threw a "Good Night, Montoya" over his shoulder for good measure.

When he entered his office he found the window behind his desk was open a few inches. He quickly scanned the dim room and found nothing out of place until his eyes landed on the desk.

He found a folded slip of paper. He plucked it from the desk and found three things written on it. The first was an address in Bristol that he'd remember even if it hadn't been the address of Wayne Manor.

A much younger James Gordon had driven a broken boy only a couple of years older than his son to that address and handed him over to his butler. He still saw the tear-streaked face of Bruce Wayne in his nightmares sometimes.

Next was a date and time; just after ten tomorrow.

Finally were two words: "It's time."

He folded the note and placed it in his pocket. He didn't recognize the handwriting. He didn't need to because this was a conversation he'd been expecting for a very long time. It was also a conversation he'd need sleep for, which is why he quickly logged off his computer and pulled on his coat.

Just as he shut off the lights and started towards the door he heard Renee's voice. "Commissioner, we have a problem."

#&#

Tim launched himself into the air using the grapnel boost, he gripped his cape and allowed it to billow and slow his decent over the roof the Kane Building. He quickly scanned his surroundings and gave a satisfactory nod, there were no surprises waiting for him, friendly or otherwise. With the night he was having, he'd almost prefer finding half a dozen goons awaiting him.

After all, most goons didn't have very-inflated views on their sense of humor or call him "Timmy." Most goons wouldn't pump him for information about who Bruce caught him with so he could use it to pick on him at a later date. Failing that, most goons wouldn't wait for Bruce to say that it was Cassie, file that information away as a foundation for an endless barrage of jokes about her adoptive Amazon status.

Dick would.

Tim held no doubts that tonight Dick Grayson would truly live up to the pejorative use of his name. He wouldn't be cruel about it, Dick wasn't cruel with his teasing but that didn't mean Tim didn't want to punch him in the face when he was Dick's target. He was sure at times like this that Jaime would tell him that Dick's job as the older brother would be to pick on him. After all, Tim had been caught with his girlfriend by Batman. If that didn't warrant a joke or two, what on Earth would?

He landed silently on the roof and scanned the horizon for Dick or Bruce. He'd been trained for years by the best to not make a silent insertion but to spot one as well… "You've quite the naughty boy tonight, young man!"

He looked up and found Nightwing perched on top of the large satellite dish and frowned. It really annoyed him when Dick appeared without him noticing. He gave his adoptive brother an annoyed expression and said, "Nightwing."

The original Robin smirked at him and said, "Always so dour, just like the boss man." With a flourish, Nightwing pushed out of his crouch into a handstand. He then allowed his body to pitch over before he tucked himself into a somersault. He landed gracefully on the roof and continued as though he hadn't just flipped off of the dish, "And now? You've been caught in the act of sullying a young lady's virtue. For shame, Robin. What would Alfred say?"

Robin folded his arms over his chest, "Probably the same thing he told _you_ when he caught you and Barbara using the big screen monitor in the Batcave to watch Nightmare on Elm Street."

Dick's laughter boomed out into the night. He clapped Tim on the back and replied, "Touché, young sir." He sobered a moment later and said, "Don't feel too bad. I've been caught a couple of times myself. Batman will give you the old speech about taking things more seriously, probably give you a few extra-long training sessions and make you change the oil of the Batmobile and that'll be it."

Tim smiled a bit, "You think so?"

With a smirk Dick asked, "Wait, hands over or under her top?"

Tim pulled back and punched Dick in the shoulder, "What the hell?"

Nightwing stumbled back a step and laughed, "I see! So she hasn't waved you off first base yet."

The younger man scowled, "Knock it off!"

"Are we a little sensitive? Frustrated, perhaps?"

Batman's calm voice brought their argument to a halt, "That's enough."

They turned towards his voice and found him standing on the ledge behind them. His cape was wrapped tightly around him that caused Tim to wonder how long he's been there. They gave him sheepish looks as they approached.

Tim spoke first, "Batman, I'm sor-"

Bruce surprised them when he said, "We'll discuss that later."

Silence settled over the three of them for a few moments, Tim and Dick wondering why Bruce called them together but still unsure if they should ask him. Finally, Bruce spoke. "Selina and I have been making lots of plans. Not just for the wedding, but for afterwards as well."

Tim chuckled nervously, "Am I being kicked out?

The corner of Bruce's mouth twitched in a small show of amusement, "Not yet. We've been discussing this part of our lives and how it has to be brought to a close."

Dick stepped forward, "Br- Batman?"

"We want to have children of our own, Nightwing. It was one thing with you two, when you came into my life you were a teenager. Tim was twelve. It would be different going out night after night while my wife and infant are at home." He frowned, "There is another issue; my age."

Tim blurted out the only question on his mind, "What do you mean?"

He turned to Tim then reached into his belt and pulled out a tablet not much larger than his palm. He handed it to Tim, "My reaction time is down almost a tenth of a second." He turned to Dick when he started to reply, "It's trending down. I've been trying to hold it off but soon enough I'll reach a point where no matter how hard I train I won't be able to continue. Gotham can't afford to have a Batman who's too slow, but unless things change very soon Gotham will still need a Batman."

Tim read over the data, Bruce had been testing his reflexes for years to study the success or failures of his training regimen. The numbers had for the most part been steady, but the data the last couple of months showed a minuscule but clear decline. He was still better than world-class athletes; he was even on par with some of the metas on the JLA still. The numbers didn't lie, Bruce would reach a tipping point and the subtle decline would become a steep drop.

He'd eventually become a liability.

"I want one of you to take my place."

Tim felt his blood run cold in his veins from shock. Bruce was asking one of them to take The Mantle. He couldn't believe it, he'd been working for this since the moment he became Robin and as he turned to Bruce he knew what he had to say.

His voice was full of conviction as he spoke, "It should be Nightwing."

At that exact moment, Dick said; "Robin should be the one to take over."

Both were surprised when Bruce chuckled, "It's alright. I didn't bring this up so we could decide tonight. I'll continue on as Batman long enough for us to figure this out. I wanted to include you on this from the start."

Dick chuckled, "First time for everything?"

Bruce laughed then replied, "I had Alfred make up your room, Gordon will be out in the morning."

Dick nodded, his mood a little mellowed by the news, "So we're finally going to tell him." At Bruce's nod he grinned, "Crazy, but I get to have a real breakfast tomorrow instead of Corn Pops so I'll count my blessings."

Bruce turned to Tim and spoke, "About the Museum-"

While Dick started laughing Tim paled again, "Batman, I-"

He lifted a hand and cut him off, "How long?"

Tim stammered, "I- Well… A Couple of months."

Dick stopped laughing before he turned to Batman who nodded then asked, "Is it serious?"

Tim felt his panic dissipate allowing him to respond more calmly, "It could be."

Bruce nodded, "Have her come out to the Manor, we'll have dinner and she can meet Selina and Alfred." With those words, Bruce turned to leave.

Quite suddenly felt his panic return, "She-uh… She already has." He coughed and Bruce turned back to him with an expectant frown. Tim felt a bead of sweat slide down the back of his neck. "She came out this afternoon. Selina had lunch with her and…" White lenses became narrowed slit in Batman's cowl, while Tim shuffled nervously. He'd seen the Bat-glare enough to know that he shouldn't wait until Bruce told him to continue. "She-uh had Alfred put her in a guest room for the weekend." He chuckled nervously, "They hit it off."

Bruce frowned for a long moment so Tim decided to clarify quickly, "Alfred put her in the guest room across the hall from his quarters."

Dick smirked, "Cagey move, opposite side of the manor and you'd have to pass the master bedroom to get there."

Tim nodded and said, "Selina really does like her."

Finally Bruce spoke, "I'm not surprised, Diana always talks about how charming Cassandra is." He then stepped off the roof into the night.

Tim didn't realize what Bruce had done until Dick spoke, "Wait a minute. Wonder Girl? You and Wonder Girl?" Tim sighed as Dick grinned at him, "Little Timmy and Wonder Girl! Wait until Batgirl finds out!"

Robin sighed again, in annoyance, "Yes, yes. Get it out of your system. Make all the jokes you can now, because if you say them in front of Cassie she might show you some of that Amazon strength."

This time, Tim smirked as the thought of his girlfriend doing just that to his adoptive brother was rather enticing. Until Dick replied, "That brings up something. She's meeting your father. That probably means you have to meet _her_ father. You remember Cassie's father, don't you? Big? White hair and a beard? Throws lightning and smites his enemies? Goes by Zeus? How do you think that'll go?"

This time, Nightwing took off into the night while Robin gave voice to the only thought in his head. "Crap."


	10. Welcome to the Family

_Welcome to the Family_

It was shortly before nine the next morning when Cassie's eyes fluttered open. Her gaze was drawn to the large window which overlooked the south lawn of Wayne Manor. The well-maintained lawn was full of still-vibrant colors and several animals out searching for their breakfast.

She slipped out of bed and after she stepped into her slippers she crossed the room to the French doors. When she pushed them open the morning breeze greeted her with the smell of the flowers. Like most people, she'd heard the grounds of Wayne Manor were gorgeous and she had even seen them on TV a few times. She'd always assumed that the pictures and film of the property had been enhanced in any number of ways. Seeing it in person, she wasn't so sure anymore.

She took a few deep breaths to just enjoy the morning before she stepped back inside. She took a quick shower and got dressed. Tim had told her last night that they had a leisurely breakfast together every Saturday morning so she shouldn't feel a need to dress up. It was a sentiment that both Selina and Mr. Pennyworth shared with her as well when they invited her to stay the weekend. Still, she was meeting Tim's adoptive father so she opted for a pair of khakis and a black button-down blouse. She then pulled on a pair of tennis shoes to make sure it didn't look like she was trying to dress up.

She was just finishing brushing her hair when she heard a knock at the door. She set the brush down and called out, "It's open."

The door came open and she smiled as Tim stuck his head around the door, "Good Morning, Cassie."

She crossed the room and greeted her boyfriend with a quick kiss, "Good Morning, Tim." She took in his appearance and smiled. Tim was dressed casually, blue jeans and a T-shirt that read "Property of the Gotham Goliaths."

She also noted with a raised eyebrow that Tim was barefoot. He grinned and made a show of wiggling his toes, "I'm home, Cassie. I also remember being the first of three people to point out that you didn't have to dress up."

She shook her head, "I'm meeting your father, Tim. You know, one of the richest, most powerful men in the country? Even if you don't factor in that he's _Batman._ You've lived here with him, he adopted you. I'm sure that he's just regular old 'Bruce' or 'Dad' to you. You may see him as a nice guy but some of us mere mortals are a little intimidated by Bruce Wayne."

Tim smirked at her and bit down on a chuckle, "'Mere Mortal?' Cassie, if you think that Bruce Wayne is just a 'regular guy' you're in for a shock. That doesn't mean you have to be intimidated by the Wayne mystique. Trust me; Bruce is intimidating all on his own.

"However, Alfred, Selina and Dick will all make sure he doesn't get all Batman on us and besides, it was pointed out to me last night that between the two of us you've got it far easier in the meeting the parents department."

She scoffed and gave him a mock glare before the pair shared a laugh. Cassie kicked off her shoes and made a show of wiggling her toes, "Better?"

He held out his hand which she happily took. They entwined their fingers and Tim spoke, "Better. C'mon, before Dick eats all the waffles."

She grinned as they stepped out into the hall, "'Waffles?'"

Tim nodded, "Yeah, Alfred usually makes waffles on mornings where we'll be eating for a while, or whenever Dick's home to eat breakfast. Plus with Commissioner Gordon coming out here-"

A blur shot past both of them, yelling "Out of the way, Timmy!" The blur quickly coalesced into Dick Grayson as he slid down the bannister of the main staircase with a cry of; "Let me at those waffles!"

The couple watched him with bemused expressions before Cassie asked, "Isn't he your _older_ brother?"

Tim laughed, "You can take the boy out of the circus… C'mon, he'll eat them all if we let him." He then led her down the staircase by the hand.

Once on the main floor, they passed the large formal dining room in favor of the smaller one that was kept for daily use. "Smaller" was a relative term when you dealt with the Wayne family. The round table was nearly twice the size of her mother's dining room table at home and though there were nine places set it could sit three more people comfortably. Judging by the detailing, she figured it was custom made. Most likely hand-carved by a master craftsman, she figured it was safe to say this "daily use" table cost more than most people's cars.

In the center of the table was a carafe of coffee, another carafe of orange juice and a platter of freshly cut fruit. Of the places set, only two were occupied thus far. Dick was preparing a cup of coffee with one hand while loading his plate with sliced apples and melon with the other. Bruce sat across from him, reading the morning's paper and sipping his own cup of coffee.

Tim pulled the chair to Dick's left out for her; she smiled and rewarded his display of manners with a quick kiss on the cheek as she sat. Dick let out a wolf whistle and after he pushed her chair in Tim responded by cuffing Dick across the back of the head before he sat down to Cassie's left. While Dick and Tim scowled at each other good-naturedly Bruce folded his newspaper and set it aside before he turned to her, "Good Morning, Miss Sandsmark."

Though she was a little intimidated, she still tried to smile and replied, "Good Morning, Mister Wayne. I'm glad to finally meet you."

He gave her a smile that actually put her at ease, "Despite what you may have been told by Wally West or Roy Harper, I'm not an ogre Miss Sandsmark. Please, call me Bruce."

She grinned, "Cassandra or Cassie and the things they say haven't all been bad."

He smirked, "I'm sure."

She found herself laughing; it seemed that the Bruce Wayne charm may not have been an act. They all started eating, save for Bruce who had picked up his paper and resumed reading. After a few moments where the only sounds in the dining room were those of eating and Bruce turning pages in the paper, Dick spoke up. "What's got your interest, Bruce?"

Bruce folded up the paper and handed it to Dick, "New player in the tech-market; StarrWare Labs." Dick looked over the article while Bruce explained to the other two, "They hit on a major breakthrough in Nano-technology. I'll have to have Lucius look into them."

Tim smirked at his older brother, "We should've known it was a Wayne Enterprises thing."

Cassie swallowed a drink of juice and asked, "Why's that?"

Alfred chose that moment to place a plate of waffles in front of her and a larger plate in front of Dick. "Because, Miss Sandsmark, if Master Wayne had decided the issue required Batman's attention he'd have already left the table to start his research in the Cave."

She nodded, "Thank you, Alfred."

He smiled at her, "Of course, Miss Sandsmark."

As she prepared her plate, Selina Kyle stepped into the room with a sleepy smile on her face. She slipped gracefully into the seat beside Bruce, pausing briefly in her decent to leave a kiss on Bruce's lips. Mere seconds after she sank into the chair, Alfred appeared at her side with a steaming cup of coffee. "Good morning, Alfred."

The butler smiled, "Good morning, Miss. I trust you slept well?"

She nodded, "Like a baby."

He nodded then returned to his cooking and the others settled into a comfortable and companionable silence.

Bruce turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "What has you so happy this morning?"

Her smile turned into a smirk, "Barbara showed me this wonderful app on her phone last night. I never knew what a topic of discussion we were. Or that Dick found so much change in parking lots."

Bruce and Selina locked eyes and seemed to have silent debate before Bruce turned to Dick, who gave his adoptive father a sheepish smile. Before anyone could reply, Alfred stepped back over to the table with plates for Tim and Bruce. "Oh yes, Miss Kyle. Master Dick found plenty of money 'searching for evidence' while Master Wayne 'interrogated' you." Alfred then turned a raised eyebrow on Bruce, "Such a fine example of detective work. I'm sure all the loose change and gum wrappers Robin found prevented many of Catwoman's crimes."

There was a tense moment at the table then Tim and Cassie snorted in unison, Dick let loose with a belly laugh, Selina smirked at her fiancé and the master of the house sighed then with a shake of his head said, "Touché, Alfred." The butler gave only a nod in acknowledgment of his victory before returning to the waffle iron.

Dick then turned to Cassandra, "Not what you were expecting from us. Is it?"

She chuckled, "Not really, no."

Tim nodded, "You know the talk around Titan Tower, Dick. They expect this place to look like a cross between a museum and a funeral home. All flickering candles and inky shadows, Bart's convinced that Bruce has a throne in the shape of a Bat."

Dick retorted, "I suppose they think there's a perpetual thunderstorm overhead and we tread quietly through the halls, fearful of the wrath of the Psycho-Bat."

Seeing Bruce becoming a little agitated, Selina laughed silkily then leaned against him, "Don't you love how they think of you?"

Bruce then surprised them all when he said, "I think I like the idea of the throne." He turned to their guest and said, "I can brood here at the table, if it will help." Tim dropped his fork, Bruce rarely indulged the rumors other heroes spread about him and he almost never joked about them.

Dick was not one to miss a beat; he sprang from the chair and drew the curtains casting a shadow across the table. As he returned to the table he dimmed the lights in the room, "Let's see it, bossman."

Bruce slouched in the chair as he propped his elbows on the arms then brought his hands together as though in prayer. Finally, an expression settled on his face that was equal parts concentration and smoldering angst.

Selina made a purring sound and said, "Mmm… Not quite the same when you're out of the cowl but delicious none the less."

The effect was instant, Dick and Tim both roared with laughter, Cassie could no longer hold hers either. One thought ran through Wonder Girl's mind; she could never tell this story and even if she did they'd never believe her.

#&#

The only sound in Jim Gordon's Impala was the crunch of the gravel beneath his tires. It was a contemplative silence for both Jim and his daughter as they drove down an unpaved private road that lead towards Wayne Manor. He'd made this drive on several occasions but the only time he ever remembered was a late-June night twenty-five years ago.

He was still a patrolman at the time. He remembered walking into the station to find a swarm of press outside the doors and half the DA's office along with Mayor Hamilton all around the bullpen.

He had tried not to think of the tragedy behind the Monarch Theater as he came to his desk only to find the tear-streaked face of that tragedy hiding under his desk. Jim had looked down into the face of a boy not too much older than his son and came to quick decision.

After a whispered conversation with then-Lieutenant Loeb, he quickly spirited the boy out of the back of the station house and drove him home.

He'd never forget the eerie silence in that patrol car, or the way Bruce's stifled sobs would occasionally punctuate it. Nor would he forget the walk from the car to the front door under the hawkish-stare of a younger Alfred Pennyworth. He looked every inch of the classic English butler until they were on the porch. It was then that Alfred knelt before Bruce and pulled the boy into his arms. His face softened for his charge and he held him for a long moment.

When he finally turned his gaze back on Jim, Alfred's eyes were haunted. Jim drove straight home from the manner and held his wife and infant son tightly. He vowed that night to keep an eye on Bruce Wayne.

As with many vows, life got in Jim Gordon's way. Years passed quietly and Jim Gordon's life went on; he went through triumphs professionally, eventually becoming a Detective in the MCU, he'd been blessed with the birth of a daughter and he'd suffered the failure of his first marriage. But through all that, Jim Gordon would always take notice when the name Bruce Wayne was uttered and he always hoped the best for the boy.

It would be years later before he came out to Wayne Manor again. This time as a member of a taskforce charged with bringing Batman to justice. They'd been investigating members of the force until another member of the taskforce, Sarah Essen hit on the idea of looking into the people with the money to fund a masked vigilante.

Where else could a search for a money man lead in Gotham?

At the time, Jim had found Bruce Wayne at twenty-five almost as pitiful as Bruce Wayne had been at eight. Just in a different way.

Bruce had apparently turned into a party-boy, it had been three in the afternoon yet he'd been disheveled and seemingly drunk with two European "models" on the couch in the background. Jim had quickly decided he'd been chasing at shadows when it came to Wayne and had left with a frown.

He was shaken from his thoughts when Barbara spoke, "He's as nervous about this as you are, dad."

Jim chuckled, "Somehow, I doubt that."

His daughter laughed, "We've talked about this more than once, dad. When I decided to tell you, he told me this would come eventually."

He pulled through the main gate as he chuckled, "One thing I've noticed is he loves his plans."

Barbara laughed, "That he does."

After killing the engine, Jim got out of the car and took a long look at Wayne Manor. Despite being built in the 1800s he always marveled at how well it was maintained. Add to that that underneath the Manor was the nerve-center of Batman's war on crime in Gotham he had to wonder how far Bruce had gone to protect that secret.

Just before they reached the door, it was pulled open revealing Alfred. He gave them a polite nod, "Good Morning, Commissioner Gordon. Miss Barbara. Master Wayne is expecting you."

When he entered the manor, he immediately noticed changes. When he'd been here a year ago for a Wayne Foundation Benefit the manor had looked much as it had for the previous twenty years. All the art on the walls had been purchased for or by Martha Wayne and placed there by her. Much the same for the furniture, the Manor had become something of a time capsule.

He noticed some of those painting had been changed out for newer pieces. To Jim's, admittedly untrained eye, they were all just as nice but they were clearly reflecting a different person's tastes, the same with the furniture.

He also noticed three cats under a bay window overlooking the front lawn, sunning themselves. That was when the biggest change became clear to Jim, no longer was it merely Wayne Manor.

It was now the home of the Wayne Family.

They walked down a corridor and Alfred opened a door on a dining table occupied by that family. "Master Wayne, I present Commissioner Gordon and Barbara Gordon."

Bruce stood and took Jim's hand, "Join us for breakfast, please."

Barbara laughed lightly, "You're in for a treat, dad. Alfred's waffles are amazing."

He smiled as his daughter sat down, "With a recommendation like that, how can I say no?"

#&#

The waffles were enjoyed with light conversation and small talk as no one felt the conversation that brought them all together that morning was not one to be held around a dining table.

Once everyone was finished, Bruce led them into a large sitting room outside of Bruce's office. There were a trio of couches and a couple of chairs. Bruce and Selina sat on one while Jim and his daughter sat on the couch that faced them; the final couch was occupied by Tim and Cassandra. Dick pulled the ottoman over and sat upon it.

Jim and Bruce were looking at each other in silence while the rest of the group seemed to be waiting to see how this conversation would start. Jim found himself wondering how this conversation _could_ start. What could they say to each other after all these years of working together, all the while ignoring the proverbial elephant in the room?

By all rights, Jim should be arresting all of them before turning himself in. They were vigilantes, all of them guilty of countless assaults and counts of obstruction at the very least. Yet he'd turned a blind eye to it because the alternative was even worse, Gotham had been simply too broken to survive without these people.

More than that, he felt a kinship with them. They helped him turn this city around and probably saved his life in the process. Because as corrupt as Gotham had been before the Batman, Jim would either be dead, off the force or he would have been forced to compromise his honor long before now. That thought still kept him up at night.

Finally it was Bruce who broke the silence, "How long have you known?"

The Commissioner of the GCPD felt a wry chuckle tumble past his lips before he answered, "'Known?' Or suspected?"

The smirk the younger man gave him was one he'd seen countless times, however this was the first time he'd seen it without the cowl. "That long?"

Selina grinned and turned to Dick, "Is this how he and I sound when we're talking in shorthand?"

Bruce's oldest son laughed, "No, when you two do it, it's always a little uncomfortable for everyone else."

Jim laughed again and said, "I never _knew_. I never wanted to know, who wore the mask because that was never important."

Bruce nodded, "I can understand that."

Jim leaned forward as his expression sobered, "However, I suspected you were involved almost from the start. There were maybe half a dozen people in the city that had the kind of drive it would take to do what you do, but you would've had to have been involved on some level even if it was only financial.

"After the first year it was down to you and Harvey, we know how that turned out. I never looked too close, never allowed myself to think about it too much. We needed you too much, and by the time I probably should've started coming down on you…" He trailed off with a shrug.

He felt almost guilty, but he wasn't quite sure if he felt guilty for implying he should have brought them to justice long ago or guilty for knowing he'd never do it.

They were all quiet for a moment before Jim spoke again, "I imagined this conversation a few times, but I never actually thought it would come. At least, I never imagined we'd have this conversation while you were still out there."

Dick smirked, "Did you imagine yourselves as old men having a drink, celebrating the day Batman went away?"

Jim smirked at the young man, "Something like that. A toast to a job well done can sound pretty nice when I get a three am phone call from Montoya telling me that Poison Ivy is trying to tear down the Gotham Dam."

Selina leaned into Bruce's side, "As nice as that sounds, I think I'd rather retire someplace warm, Bruce."

Jim nodded to himself, "So, is this about coming clean before you retire?"

Bruce surprised him when he shook his head, "No, this is because we'd like your help with something."

He sat up straighter, "Name it."

Selina took Bruce's hand and laced their fingers together, "Bruce and I are getting married in the spring."

Jim felt a wry smile spread across his face, "Why am I not surprised?"

While the Dark Knight shook his head at his friend's humor the reformed thief laughed lightly, "We've been getting that reaction." Her face then turned serious, "We want to have a small ceremony. I don't have much in the way of family beyond my father and I don't want him there." That sentiment didn't surprise anyone in the room as Selina's father was Carmine Falcone. What she said next did surprise Jim, though. "I'd like you to give me away."

He sat back and took in what she had just asked of him, "There's…" He trailed off and regrouped his thoughts, "Wouldn't you rather someone closer to you gave you away?"

Selina shook her head, "This is a time for family, Jim. You're part of that now. At least _we_ would like you to be." Jim noticed when she said "we" that Dick, Tim and Barbara all nodded in agreement. He realized now what this conversation had been. It wasn't Bruce and Jim coming clean to each other. It never had been.

It was Jim being welcomed completely into the Wayne family.

He rose to his feet, and then he held out his hand to Selina. She took it and stood up, "I would be honored to give you away, Selina." She reached forward and hugged him and he felt a tremendous comfort settle over him. As Selina stepped out of his embrace, Bruce got to his feet and shook Jim's hand.

The trio sat down again and settled into a more relaxed atmosphere. Dick chose that moment to speak, "This is great."

Bruce smirked at his oldest son, "Can I expect some more pearls of wisdom in the database later today?"

Barbara smirked at Dick, "Better be careful, Wing-ding. He'll make scour parking lots for loose change."

Tim laughed, "I prefer guarding the car, I could at least listen to the radio."

Dick gave them a mock scowl, "No solidarity from my fellow sidekicks. I see how it is."

The door opened and they turned as one to see Alfred. Bruce stood when he saw the flustered look on his butler's face. "Alfred?"

With a scowl, the Englishman spoke, "Master Wayne, I present Miss Talia al Ghul."

The rest of the room's occupants were on their feet as the new guest entered the room. Dressed in a tight emerald colored dress that accentuated her olive skin and midnight colored hair, Talia al Ghul was a beautiful woman. However, her beauty was marred by her smug expression. "Hello, Beloved."

Jim turned to Bruce and quickly noted the sour expression on his face. While Bruce's expression was sour, Selina's face was murderous. "What the hell are you doing here?!" She surged forward but was held back by Bruce.

If anything, the daughter of the Demon turned even more arrogant, "I wish to introduce you to someone." She held out her hand towards the doorway and to their surprise, a child stepped into the room.

He was no more than ten with slicked back dark hair. He wore black from head to toe with fair skin and blue-eyes; he looked strangely familiar to Jim with his jaw jutting out. He was the very picture of arrogance. Bruce crossed the room, his eyes locked on the boy with an expression that was as much shock as it was horror. When Bruce stood before them, Talia turned to the boy, "Damian, this is your father."

As a horrified silence descended upon the room, Talia gave them all a victorious smile. That was when it all clicked in Jim's mind; "Damian" was almost a carbon copy of his father. The only thing of his mother's he had that Jim could tell was ego.

It seemed to be an eternity before Damian spoke, "Father. I imagined you taller."


End file.
